Pituitary MRI examination
Pituitary MRI examination can be requested by a doctor if several diseases are suspected. Examples include abnormal obesity, infertility, growth defect – suspected short stature –, thyroid diseases, sex hormone disorders.
But this examination may well-founded by the suspicion of a tumour of the pituitary gland, high levels of prolactin hormone, in which case the possibility of a CT scan may arise. Pituitary MRI can also detect missing or small frontal lobe and hypothalamic morphological changes.
What kind of preparation is needed?
In all cases, it is recommended that you consult your doctor for details before having a pituitary MRI scan. Do not eat for 6 hours before the examination with contrast agent!
It is important to know that due to the strong magnetic field, it is forbidden to bring any metal, device or object containing metal into the examination room! This also applies to jewellery and piercings in the body.
How is the pituitary MRI scan performed?
The MRI device resembles a large, thick ring with a table at the bottom on which you lie motionless.
Native images of the pituitary gland are taken for comparison purposes in all cases, because if the area were examined only after the administration of the contrast agent, problematic parts would be more difficult to distinguish from the healthy glandular tissues.
MRI is noisy, a strange, knocking, clicking machine noise can be heard but its intensity can be reduced by using earplugs.
Medicover’s MRI device is called a closed machine, so the patient may feel confined. However, the good news is that this can be mitigated by the fact that the machine’s diameter is larger than average with its 70 cm. During the examination, the patient does not feel anything.
When can the examination not be performed?
When any magnetic-responsive material — joint prosthesis, nail, screw, metal valve, pacemaker, tourniquet, implant, etc. — is implanted in the body. These can move out of place during the examination in a strong magnetic field and, in severe cases, cause injury and make the resulting image of the organ being examined invaluable. Nowadays, after surgeries, patients receive a document stating whether or not they can be examined with MRI with the built-in implant. If the patient is prone to claustrophobia, the test may be difficult to be performed.
Is there any side effects?
MRI has no side effects, rarely the contrast agent can cause a reaction. In the case of pre-existing known allergies, examination with contrast agent is not performed.
When is the result expected?
The completed recording will be reviewed by the radiologist and the result will be available in our online system after 5 working days.
