# CT Scans **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643 "2016-10-24T23:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/1 "2016-10-24T23:15:29Z")
I had a CT scan on Friday mourning. When should my doctor have the results? There is a mass in my belly, just above my bellybutton. Probably a hernia, but what can/will the CT scan show? Thanks.🙂 I’m not saying it’s an alien symbiont, but…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/2 "2016-10-24T23:22:32Z")
He should have it by now. Most scans these days get read within a couple hours of being taken, at most. Though I will say I’ve seen some spectacular systems failures that resulted in me not getting reports on my patient’s scans for a week or more. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/3 "2016-10-25T02:39:30Z")
Doctor should have it in 24 hrs. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/4 "2016-10-25T03:04:29Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > I had a CT scan on Friday mourning. When should my doctor have the results? > There is a mass in my belly, just above my bellybutton. Probably a hernia, but what can/will the CT scan show? > > Thanks.🙂 > > I’m not saying it’s an alien symbiont, but…😛 There will be clear directions on cleaning out belly button lint REGULARLY, mister. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/5 "2016-10-26T00:27:18Z")
So I heard from my doctor just now and I have a Ventral Hernia and that means surgery. Oh Joy! I also have an inflamed colon, a possible cyst on one of my kidneys, an enlarged spleen, and a fatty liver. At least I wasn’t pregnant.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/6 "2016-10-26T01:21:47Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > So I heard from my doctor just now and I have a Ventral Hernia and that means surgery. Oh Joy! > > I also have an inflamed colon, a possible cyst on one of my kidneys, an enlarged spleen, and a fatty liver. > > At least I wasn’t pregnant.😛 Did they say why your spleen is enlarged, what it’s responding to? I understand it can get very uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/7 "2016-10-27T04:45:21Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Did they say why your spleen is enlarged, what it’s responding to? I understand it can get very uncomfortable. No, she only said it was something to keep an eye on, along with the cyst. I’m not in any pain, so I guess we just wait and see. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/8 "2016-10-28T00:09:56Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > I had a CT scan on Friday **mourning**. … Bolding mine. I understand the results were less favorable than you’d hoped. But don’t you think this is a bit … pessimistic? 🙂 Seriously … On the topic of liver I was reading just today on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic\_fatty\_liver\_disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic_fatty_liver_disease) which seems to say that fatty liver is stunningly common in the US. If so many have it, and it’s not a major source of public panic, then I (not a medic even a little bit) have to think it’s not such an awful thing. Unless you’re a real severe case. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/9 "2016-10-28T01:40:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Bolding mine. > > I understand the results were less favorable than you’d hoped. But don’t you think this is a bit … pessimistic? 🙂 > > Seriously … > > On the topic of liver I was reading just today on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic\_fatty\_liver\_disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic_fatty_liver_disease) which seems to say that fatty liver is stunningly common in the US. If so many have it, and it’s not a major source of public panic, then I (not a medic even a little bit) have to think it’s not such an awful thing. Unless you’re a real severe case. **FoisGrasIsEvil** will not be happy! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/10 "2016-10-28T02:02:30Z")
You can have them give you a CD of the images just a few minutes after they take them. As stated, a day or so to have them read & results sent to your doc, but sometimes you can walk that disc right over to your doc & have it read (obviously depending upon the doc & what they’re looking at/for) & if the records get screwed up/lost you won’t need to have the test redone. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ct-scans/769643/11 "2016-10-28T02:21:13Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > **FoisGrasIsEvil** will not be happy! Be sure to check out **jackmanii** ’s learned post here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19715509#post19715509](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19715509#post19715509) Who knew livers could be so … decorative? 🙂 Seriously … Ref **Spiderman** … It’s smart to get your own CD copy after any x-ray / CT. Anything you can do to maintain your own med record history and minimize unnecessary exposure to radiation is good. Scans repeated due to lost or unavailable records are pretty much unnecessary by definition.