The follow-up scan after liver ablation: what it looks for | CION Cancer Clinics

Usually around a month afterwards, though your team may choose a slightly different timing. Scanning too early can confuse the picture, because the healing liver around the zone can light up. Your team will give you a date before you go home after the procedure.

Both work well when done with contrast and several timings. MRI can be clearer in some livers. The most useful thing is consistency: the same kind of scan each time, ideally read by a radiologist who can compare it directly with the earlier pictures.

Usually not. Many primary liver cancers do not show up well on a standard PET scan, so a normal PET does not prove the tumour is gone. A contrast CT or MRI remains the standard check after ablation of HCC.

The tumour board looks at its size and position. A small leftover area can often be ablated again. Sometimes TACE, surgery or radiation suits better. Finding it early, on the first scan, is exactly why the scan is done.

Not necessarily. A thin, smooth, even ring is common early on and is usually the liver healing. A thick, irregular or lumpy area at one edge is more concerning. The radiologist judges this by its shape and how it behaves across the scan phases.

After a clear first scan, surveillance scans continue at regular intervals, more often in the early period and then less often. Your team sets the timing for your liver and your tumour. The follow-up schedule page explains the general pattern.

Contrast dye is cleared mainly by the kidneys, not the liver. Your kidney function is checked before the scan. Tell the team about any earlier reaction to contrast, diabetes medicines you take, or kidney problems, so they can plan safely.

Sometimes, but ask first. A scan done without the right timings may need repeating. If you do scan locally, ask for the images on a disc or a link, not only the printed report, so the team can compare them properly. Call the CION helpline to plan this.