FibroScan (Elastography)

An ultrasound of the liver, or FibroScan as it is known professionally, is a test that checks scarring in the liver. The scan is done at the Liver Clinic managed by Dr. Sayaf Abu-Moch, a specialist in internal medicine and liver medicine. The clinic is run by Hillel Yaffe Medical Center's Internal Medicine B Department.

Chronic liver disease can be caused by fatty liver, excessive consumption of alcohol, the hepatitis B and C viruses, medications and more. In chronic liver disease patients, over the years healthy liver tissue turns in to scar tissue that does not function, and this leads to the development of liver cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver loses its flexibility and becomes stiff. The more scarring in your liver, the poorer it functions. Therefore, one of the important things is to determine the level of scarring. This can be done through a liver biopsy - an invasive test, or by FibroScan and ultrasound of the liver, which as previously mentioned, is noninvasive and is as precise as a biopsy, just without the physical pain involved in having a biopsy.

During the FibroScan test, the amount of fatty liver is sampled, and an assessment of the severity is done.

One of the known problems with fatty liver is that you cannot feel the symptoms except after a diagnostic test, but at high degrees of liver scarring, liver cirrhosis develops and the patient may get to a point where they need transplant surgery or even die.

Who is the test intended for?

The test is intended for anyone who has a known liver disease and also for people who are obese and patients with diabetes. The last two are known for cumulative damage to the liver, which will not necessarily be felt unless the disease is advanced. FibroScan is only part of the health services basket (HMO payment authorization form) for liver patients with hepatitis C.

The test is also recommended for patients with hepatitis B, autoimmune disease of the liver, fatty liver, and also for diabetes patients and people who are obese.

At Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, the test can be done for a fee.

Scheduling an appointment

• The specialists from Internal Medicine B operate the clinic on Mondays, from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. 
• To come to the clinic, you will need to schedule an appointment and bring a referral from your doctor in the community. 
• For more information and to schedule an appointment, call: 04-7744414.