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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Thickening Of Small Intestine Indicate?

I had a ct scan 3 wks ago and it showed 2 areas of thickening in the small bowel. The thickenings are on the outside walls. Today I had a PET scan, no tumors showed up, but, one of the thickenings, the longer one, has grown. The radiologists do not know what this is. HOW CAN I FIND OUT. IS SURGERY THE ONLY ANSWER? Thank you.
posted on Mon, 6 Oct 2014
Twitter Sat, 24 Jan 2015 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 27 Jan 2015 Last reviewed on
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
hello
welcome to hcm
well.there are many possible conditions which can cause thickening of the intestines such as

(1) INFECTIONS of the intestinal walls specifically intestinal tuberculosis

(2) INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINAL WALLS like

(a) crohn's disease

(b) ulcerative colitis

(3) ISCHEMIA OF THE INTESTINAL WALLS i.e when there is decreased blood flow to the intestines and intestines dont get adequate supply of oxygenated blood the intestinal wall gets thickened

(4) TUMORS OF INTESTINES such as in lymphomas and adenocarcinoma of the intestines

i would advice you to kindly get done the following tests to make a precise diagnosis--

(1) BIOPSY OF THE THICKENED PART OF THE INTESTINAL WALL

(2) BARIUM MEAL STUDY

(3) ENDOSCOPY

these are very sensitive and specific investigations in making a precise diagnosis once you get these tests done you can either send us the scanned copy of your reports or can consult a gastroentrologist so that appropriate treatment can be prescribed
i hope you will find this information to be helpful
take care
hcm
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What Does Thickening Of Small Intestine Indicate?

hello welcome to hcm well.there are many possible conditions which can cause thickening of the intestines such as (1) INFECTIONS of the intestinal walls specifically intestinal tuberculosis (2) INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINAL WALLS like (a) crohn s disease (b) ulcerative colitis (3) ISCHEMIA OF THE INTESTINAL WALLS i.e when there is decreased blood flow to the intestines and intestines dont get adequate supply of oxygenated blood the intestinal wall gets thickened (4) TUMORS OF INTESTINES such as in lymphomas and adenocarcinoma of the intestines i would advice you to kindly get done the following tests to make a precise diagnosis-- (1) BIOPSY OF THE THICKENED PART OF THE INTESTINAL WALL (2) BARIUM MEAL STUDY (3) ENDOSCOPY these are very sensitive and specific investigations in making a precise diagnosis once you get these tests done you can either send us the scanned copy of your reports or can consult a gastroentrologist so that appropriate treatment can be prescribed i hope you will find this information to be helpful take care hcm