PAMF Liver Evaluation and Diagnostic Services

If you have the tell-tale signs of liver disease—yellow skin, pale stool, dark urine, tendency to bruise—the first step to recovery is a thorough and comprehensive evaluation and diagnosis.

Featured Services

Endoscopy

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Evaluation and Diagnosis

Across the Sutter Health network, dedicated hepatologists and gastroenterologists provide comprehensive evaluation and diagnoses of liver diseases of all types, including hepatitis, autoimmune liver disease, fatty liver disease, acute liver failure and liver cancer.

Liver experts use the latest techniques and technologies to evaluate your condition and provide a swift and accurate diagnosis to put you on a path to treatment.

Blood Tests

Liver function tests measure the level of various proteins and enzymes in the blood and urine, and are often the first indication of liver disease. Elevated liver enzymes can be a sign of cell damage or inflammation in the liver. A different series of blood tests, the hepatitis virus panel, is used to detect recent or chronic infection by hepatitis A, B or C viruses and determine whether the patient is infectious.

Colonoscopy and Endoscopy

Both procedures probe different ends of the digestive system using a lighted tube with a video camera on the end called an endoscope — the colon in the case of the colonoscopy and the esophagus in the case of endoscopy. If liver disease is present, both procedures can be used to uncover and treat damage resulting from poor liver function, such as bleeding due to portal vein hypertension.

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography

This procedure enables your doctor to visualize the bile and pancreatic ducts and clear suspected blockages. An endoscope is advanced into the duodenum and a tiny tube called a catheter is inserted into the pancreatic duct. A dye is injected, and your doctor takes an x-ray to view and treat any blockages.

Imaging

A variety of imaging tests may be used to evaluate the liver and other organs and structures in the digestive system, including ultrasound, CT, MRI, and, if cancer is suspected, PET-CT.

Fibroscan — Offered at SGMF and CPMC, fibroscan assesses the health of your liver. Using a specialized ultrasound technology, this devices peers into your liver to determine the degree of fibrosis (scarring) from liver diseases and other conditions.

Liver Biopsy

A liver biopsy can help assess the extent of fibrosis in patients with cirrhosis due to viral infection, alcoholism or other diseases of the liver.

In Your Corner

A Cure for Hepatitis C

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 3.5 million people in the United States are infected by hepatitis C . The good news: new, effective treatments provide solutions without the onerous side effects of past treatments.

Liver Diseases and Transplant Research

Hepatology researchers are investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying hepatitis B, C and other liver diseases. Identifying early molecular or genetic changes - which may be detected before the disease manifests any clinical symptoms - could lead to interventions that reduce the severity of liver disease, or even prevent it from developing. Clinical researchers in the Liver Disease Management and Transplant Program are leading new investigations into hepatitis B and C disease management, hepatoma, hepatitis and HIV co-infection, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatorenal syndrome, and the care of liver transplant patients.

Sutter Health Liver Diseases and Transplant Research Sutter Health Liver Diseases and Transplant Research