The human body is composed of various vital organs, each working in sync to assist in the smooth functioning of the body. The liver is one such organ, the largest gland in the body, and is known for carrying out approximately 500 essential chores.
Thus, any anomaly associated with the liver could be a potential risk to life. One such common problem is fatty liver. A fatty liver is a condition where fat accumulation occurs in the liver cells. It can be easily detected by looking at the fatty liver images on an ultrasound.
In this write-up, we shall talk more about fatty liver, featuring the fatty liver images as well as the liver damage images for better familiarity.
Fatty liver basically refers to excess fat accumulation in the liver cells, also known as hepatocytes. This interferes with the basic functioning of the liver. Fatty liver can be of two types:
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The liver cells become a loaded storage house of fat molecules in the fatty liver. This happens when the body is incapable of metabolising the extra fat. Several factors cause the accumulation of fat in the liver. Some of them include the following:
Ultrasound or Sonography is one of the safest and cheapest methods for diagnosing fatty liver disease. It's a kind of scan that provides adequate fatty liver images to assist the medical practitioner in delivering a good diagnosis.
The fatty liver ultrasound images of the liver appear much brighter (hyperechoic) as compared to the normal liver images. More brightness means more severity of fatty liver disease. However, too much brightness shows a low-definition fatty liver ultrasound image.
Ultrasound is a non-invasive and cost-effective procedure that helps elevate the level of fat accumulated in the liver or the degree of damage as the focal or diffuse alterations in the liver parenchyma. The grades of fatty liver are as follows:
Patients with fatty liver are often asymptomatic. Hence they are usually diagnosed accidentally. They only show symptoms in the later stages when the disease has advanced. Fatty liver images help diagnose and understand the progression of the disease.
We hope this article informs you everything you want to know about fatty liver and its ultrasound images. In case you have any other queries, feel free to contact us! At HexaHealth, we ensure that every patient is not only getting the right treatment but is also educated about his or her health concerns.
The fatty liver ultrasound images appear brighter or have high echogenicity compared to the adjacent organs in the frame.
Yes, besides alcohol consumption, there are other causes of fatty liver too, namely, obesity, diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, pregnancy, side effects of medicines, and hepatitis infection.
Fatty liver can be either of the two types, i.e. alcoholic fatty liver and non-alcoholic fatty liver. Also, the causes of both types vary from one another.
The three most common signs of fatty liver are abdominal pain, weight loss, and jaundice symptoms.
A doctor would examine the fatty infiltration of the liver ultrasound images and correlate it with the degree of alcohol consumption. Also, the patient could be asked for a few blood examinations, such as liver function tests.
Basic lifestyle changes such as weight loss, discontinuing alcohol consumption, etc., can help an individual get rid of fatty liver. However, it's always better to seek advice from the health care provider at the right time because it gets too late in the disease.
Scarring of the liver, along with the enlargement of the spleen and the blood vessels beneath, can make the stomach appear bigger in fatty liver disease.
Normally the fatty liver does not show any symptoms unless the disease takes an evil turn; however, the general signs such as abdominal pain, nausea, or discomfort in the upper right region of the stomach become evident in some cases.
No, it is found that about 20% of heavy drinkers develop fatty liver; however, there are also chances of others showing symptoms such as the enlarged liver.
Yes, it is possible to reverse the adversity of alcoholic fatty liver by discontinuing alcohol consumption. In fact, it's been found that withdrawal of alcohol from the routine can even help the liver get back to normal within just two weeks.
A blood test named GGT or Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase is used to assess the functioning of the liver, especially in cases of high alcohol consumption.
A fatty liver begins to heal if you stop drinking alcohol; that is, the damage begins to resolve.
When your liver begins to heal, you can feel it yourself in the form of positive changes such as vanishing abdominal pain and swelling, disappearing jaundice symptoms, etc. You can also get it checked through ultrasound and blood investigations.
Last Updated on: 12 December 2022
MBBS, DNB General Surgery, Fellowship in Minimal Access Surgery, FIAGES
12 Years Experience
Dr Aman Priya Khanna is a well-known General Surgeon, Proctologist and Bariatric Surgeon currently associated with HealthFort Clinic, Health First Multispecialty Clinic in Delhi. He has 12 years of experience in General Surgery and worke...View More
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