2014/15 University Hospital Foundation Annual Report: Supporting Worl | Page 13

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The combined resources of the Zeidler Gastroenterology Health and
Research Centre, the state-of-the-art Allan H. Owen Endoscopy
Suite, and a research laboratory - all under one roof and in close

SURPRISE – YOU
HAVE LIVER DISEASE

proximity to each other - makes the Gastroenterology program at
the University of Alberta Hospital unique in North America.

Healthy and active, Kim Gadbois had no
reason to believe she had liver disease.

A new way to scan for liver disease

So when she returned home from her
wedding in Mexico, she was surprised
to hear from her doctor who had
concerns about a blood test Kim had
taken before she left.

Fibroscan is state-of-the-art technology that determines the presence of liver
disease in patients who have had abnormal liver tests. It’s a quick, accurate, and
painless alternative to biopsies. Best of all, it saves lives.
Generous donor support of the University Hospital Foundation enabled the
purchase of a new Fibroscan for the Gastroenterology program at the University
of Alberta Hospital. With this two minute test, up to 40 patients per day will be
scanned, and thousands of cases of liver disease will be diagnosed before liver
failure can occur.
“The liver can only function when the architecture of the liver is maintained,”
explains Dr. Mang Ma, Hepatologist at the University of Alberta Hospital. “It’s like
the foundation of a house. If there’s a small amount of damage, it can be repaired.
But when the foundation is too far gone, there’s no way you can repair it.”

A second blood test showed that
Kim’s liver enzymes were dramatically
elevated. A liver biopsy revealed that
she had a life-threatening condition
known as primary biliary cirrhosis – a
serious and chronic condition that had
already damaged Kim’s bile ducts and
badly scarred her liver.
Today, Kim is on a treatment plan that
includes regular Fibroscan testing.
“If I had to get a biopsy every year,
that would be hard to take,” says Kim.
“Biopsies are painful. Fibroscan takes
care of that concern. And it tells my
doctor everything he needs to know
about my condition.”
Thanks to community support, patients
like Kim who have liver disease will have
access to the finest, most accurate and
noninvasive technology available.
Learn more...

Watch & Learn Donors go
behind the scenes at Hear See Do
Gastroenterology event.
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