Liver Biopsy

Like so many of the experiences I've had with people at UCSF and Stanford, I continue to be impressed with how kind everyone is. I'm also impressed with how competent and how well everyone works as a team.

I showed up at 10:30 am, fasting. I was greeted by a welcome person who directed me to the right floor, etc. I was then greeted by another person who checked me in, did wrist bands, took payment, etc.

About 10 minutes later, a nurse comes out and brings me back to get prepped for the procedure. I get into a gown, hop into a bed, get warm blankets and a surgical nurse shows up and takes a history, does vitals, sets the IV, etc. Soon after that, one of the residents came to explain the the procedure, listened to my heart, etc. He was great.

I then get wheeled back to the operating room. There were 6 people back there getting prepped with computers, ultrasound, my vitals, etc. Again, everyone working as a team, generally happy, but moving quite quick. They even let me choose the music for the procedure.

I was feeling calm this entire time. That's been a blessing during this entire time, a feeling of peace and calm, I was to be locally anesthetized around my liver and then given some conscious sedation. Many people are awake during the procedure. I promptly fell asleep and woke up saying, "We're all done?" Smooth as that.

I was then wheeled back to recovery, nice nurses, orange juice and turkey sandwiches. They made me wait 2+ hours to make sure no blood clotting occurred. The liver is very vascular. I was good to go, wheeled downstairs where my Uber (Alicia) was waiting for me.

Overall very smooth. One more major test on Friday, a PET / CT Scan.