Liver specialist appointments - don't waste your 30 minUTES

---

Liver specialist appointment – how to prepare

Before the Liver Specialist appointment

1. Make sure you have accessed your blood reports from your GP. Take them to the Liver Specialist in paper, highlighted with the abnomal items.

Normally the Liver Specialist will give you one blood test referral form, to be done just before the next appointment. Your GP can give you a blood test referral form anytime.

You may choose,like me, to get blood tests once a month ordered by your GP , to keep on top of things.

GP’s can nominate all sorts of things on the blood test like

Full Blood Count

CEA (Cancer)

HB1ac – Diabetes 

Cholesterol

Note I will have blood section later.

2. Even better, access your blood reports beforehand from Mygov Ehealth, then discuss with your GP. The reason for this is so that you are reducing time with your GP on normal results and spend more time on the abnormal results. 

Ask your GP what does a particular abnormal result mean and is there anyway that the GP can prescribe medicine or other alternatives such as vitamins and diet that can fix this problem without the Liver Specialist.

The discussion with your GP will reduce time wasted at the Liver Specialist appointment. Perhaps you could tell your Specialist – “I am aware of that abnormal blood result but I am taking xxx as advised by my GP….”

Amazingly I did have an unacredited trainee at Mater advise me to take Vitamin A,K and Zinc whereas my GP didn’t mention this. These items weren’t abnormal at the time, but this is another question for the specialist –“What vitamins should I take?”.

My GP, to her credit, arranged a free visit from an accredited pharmacist to come to my home and review all pills and vitamins. Thanks for that.

3. You look at the report yourself. You look at the images youself. Look for Radiologists mistakes. I find one every time all by myself.

Examples in another section of this website.

4. Email the Liver Specialist with the following as many days beforehand the following:

Radiologist Report

Access code and direct internet access to the Radiologist report and scan images.

Your questions in writing.

At the Liver Specialist appointment.

5. Take a written copy of your Radiologist report with you. Get this from the Radiographer's portal online at your homes. Hghlight the area of interest that you have a concern with. Also take around 6 images from the Radiologist's Portal. Use Microft Paint Version 10 to capture still images from Video.

6. Ask the Liver specialist to show you on the screen whatever he is talking about. If he can’t do this , the Liver Specialist is hopeless.

Professor Darrell Crawford of Queensland Gastroenterology said he couldn’t and wouldn’t read scans. Hopeless.

7. Bring your laptop with you and obtain internet acces to the Radiologist Portal via your mobile phone WIFI hotspot. Have this ready to open up the Radiologists portal, if the Liver Specialist tells you porky pies that he can’t access your personal.  You are a lay person but you have access to your scans and reports yourself, available 24 hours a day.

8. Make sure there are at least 14 clear days after the Scan/Radiologists appointment before  the Liver Specialist appointment. Qld Xray and QScan use the same computer system. The images are on the portal same day as the scan.

The report is only available after 14 days to you, but around 7 days to your GP. Make sure you get the report from the GP to give you 7 days to examine the report and scans yourself.

9. Get to the point as quickly as you can, with the Liver Specialist. You only have 30 minutes every 6 months. A liver specialist recently said to me on 15/5/24 “David I have given you 50 minutes. That’s enough.” I still had 10 unanswered questions.

Have your questions laid out on the Liver Specialist’s table and ask “Did you receive my list of questions?”

If the Liver Specialist can’t answer the questions he is a dumbo.

Your first question is always -

Can you confirm that the Radiographer has provided and accurate measurement

of all items, Liver size, Spleen size, Cyst size ?

The one exception is this –

If an honest Liver Specialist says” there is a chance of this” or “a good chance of this “. That’s ok. At least he is honest. I like that. Nothing is certain in the Liver business. My oral surgery father always used to say “There’s 10% chance that tooth will fall apart, but 90% chance it will last 10 years”. That is all I personally am looking for.

10. Ask the questions quickly. Write down the answers.

11. Watch out for these shonky copout advices from shonky Liver Specialists –

“These things take time. They might resolve on their own..”

Just imagine you take your car to the mechanic after the engine 

Blows up and the mechanic says “Don’t worry the engine will fix itself.

It just takes time”

“The spleen can go down in size by 30% in two weeks. Spleens can

change in size very quickly. Livers can change in size quickly”

These are said to fob you off when possibly the Radiologist has made a big mistake. The Liver Specialist just wants to save the backside of the Radiologist and not yourself. Email me for more details.

“I can’t read scans” 

, eg Professor Darrell Crawford of Queensland Gastroenterology.