MRI

I know that some of you are anxious to know more about how the MRI. Boy, what an experience that was! I had heard about the load noises, but did not know that the tune changes throughout the procedure. I got the pleasure of hearing something similar to the “test of the emergency broadcast system” sound, the fire alarm here at my work, and a sound that was too much like a system error alarm. I only hoped that it was supposed to sound like that, and wasn’t an urgent alarm that the MRI was about to blow up.

From my experience as a nurse, I know that it does not take 3-5 days to get the radiology read. As the week progressed, I became anxious to obtain the results.

My efforts to obtain this information have been challenging. I am usually pretty good at working the Kaiser system, but the Podiatry Department has a different set of rules that I just couldn’t get around. In my frustrations, I began to question why I am so good at advocating for my children, and I can’t seem to be able to do this for myself. After 5 messages on the various voicemail numbers that I have for Podiatry, as well as speaking to the scheduling desk, I found out that my Podiatrist is in the Operating Room most of the time. I had to get creative in obtaining my MRI results.

Here they are:
Attention to the peroneal tendons, there is very minimal fluid identified, but no evidence of abnormal fluid signal or discontinuity of the peroneal tendons themselves. The anterior and posterior tendons about the ankle similarly without evidence of tear. The calcaneal tendon intact. There is T2 prolonging signal within the anterior aspect of the cuboid bone. This extends approximately 1-1.5 cm. No abnormal soft tissue mass is seen. Ankle mortise is intact without osteochondral lesion. Minimal fluid within the ankle joint.

** IMPRESSION **:
1. Minimal fluid within the peroneal tendon sheaths, _________ associated with tendinitis. There is no definite evidence of tendinous discontinuity or tear.
2. Edema/contusion within the cuboid bone.

When I read the results, I was a bit at a loss for what it could be. I was also relieved that I did not see the word fracture any where in the text. I semi-celebrated and send an email back to say, “So, NO fracture?” just to be sure that I wasn’t missing anything.

A little more research on bone contusion and my celebration was over.

Here is what I discovered:
Bone Contusion: During the acute stage, bone contusions (bone bruises) manifest at MR imaging as reticular areas of hypointensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintensity on T2-weighted and fat-suppressed images. They are related to microfractures of the trabecular bone and edema or hemorrhage within the bone marrow. Bone contusions normally resolve within 8–12 weeks. In most cases, radiographic findings are negative. The clinical significance of bone contusions detected with MR imaging is unknown, but it is generally accepted that continued stress placed on a contused bone may lead to complete fracture.

*Yikes!*
Podiatry was closed over the weekend. I thought about camping out in their waiting room on Monday morning, because I didn’t know what else to do. By the time Monday rolled around, I thought better of it. Instead, I sent a message to my regular MD. I told her that I was having trouble getting a follow up appointment with the Podiatrist and that I just wanted reassurance that I wasn’t risking complete fracture by continuing to walk. I informed her of an ongoing issue of decreased sensitivity in my right foot due to a childhood illness. She responded back to reassure me, and said that she tried to leave a voicemail for my Podiatrist but he voicemail was full.

*Opps!*
She said that she would continue to try. So in the meantime, I am doing the best that I can to stay off of my foot as much as possible.