Thank you for your info on MRI, Dr Hungerford! Now, we have a new question: what does a bonescan show and how does it work? I am guessing that it is similar to the MRI in that it shows a change in living tissue (or activity therein), correct?

Also, a lot of our group has asked if Osteonecrosis can be accurately identifed by the bonescan. I was once told by a technician that a bonescan cannot show the exact cause of a "hot spot", but only that one exists. Is that correct? Thank you in advance for your help!

Marie

-- Marie Shanahan (AVNrie@aol.com), February 05, 2004

Answers

This question was posted a very long time ago, and it still has not received a response. Would someone please answer it? Thank you.

-- Marie Shanahan (AVNrie@aol.com), January 07, 2005.

I was diagnosed with lupus in 1997 after a stroke. The only treatment that worked were corticosteroids, so I spent 6 years on high dose. I had to have a left hip replacement last May for AVN, which was the BEST thing I ever did, I awoke in the rec. room and thanked the surgeon for taking the hot knife out of my hip......I now have it in my right shoulder. I also have a pacemaker, so MRI is not an option for me. They did a bone scan on Monday, and the radiologist was kind enough to explain it all to me. The first "hot spot" they look for is increased uptake (activity) in the painful joint (which they saw), and they then do a "FLOW STUDY". The flow study shows them that there is congestion and increased blood attempting to get INTO the joint. It becomes "hot spot" number 2. You can have AVN with normal flow - if there is still normal flow, there is no need for surgery, because as long as the blood flow is normal, rest and/or therapy should help. If the flow is "hot", the joint is "hopeless". So, I will be getting either a resurfacing or replacement. Since they are tapering my steroids quickly, and my other joints all look okay, this will prayerfully be the end of the line of AVN for me. I hope this has helped - my orthopod believes bone scans are more helpful than MRI's - the flow is more important, and all the MRI shows is the degree of bone death.

-- Lisa Godshall (Lisapie7@aol.com), February 02, 2005.

My wife had 2 mri and the doctor told me that there is evidence of a tumer and wants to do a bone scan.what is a bone how do they do it

-- HUGH MCDADE (HUGHIE379@BELLSOUTH.NET), February 14, 2005.