Ultrasound on the liver to find what? my father had some bloodwork done and it showed he had some elevated liver functions. the doctor has ordered an ultrasound of his liver and i was wondering what sort of things they're looking for.

Many : Many different things can cause elevated liver function tests (lft's). An ultrasound can be used to evaluate for signs of cirrhosis, enlargement of the liver (hepatomegally), fatty infiltration of liver (replacement of normal liver tissue by fat), large liver tumors, gall bladder problems and problems involving the billiary tree (tubes that drain bile from the liver to the bowel). Ultrasound is also used to evaluate the vessels that carry blood to and from the liver (heaptic veins, hepatic artery, and portal vein). The most common abnormalities we find when performing ultrasound for elevated lft's are fatty infiltration of the liver and cirrhosis, but oftentimes the study is normal and the cause for the abnormal blood test is not identified on ultrasound. Your father's primary care provider will use the ultrasound results in conjunction with other clinical information to determine the most likely cause for the abnormal blood test.

Tumor: They looking to rule out gall bladder stones, tumor, metastatic disease.