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MRI and CT Scans
An MRI scan is very useful as it provides a detailed picture of what is going on
inside the brain. A CT scan does not give as much detail as an MRI scan but can
give information on whether fuid is draining properly from the brain, is quicker to
carry out, and can be less frightening for children.MRI scans take much longer to
carry out (it can be around half an hour) and general anaesthetic may be needed
(usually for children under the age of fve) as the child must be completely still
throughout the procedure.
When the MRI scan was carried out on Katie, they informed us they had found
a tumour and we were kept in Borders General Hospital overnight and taken by
ambulance the next day to Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children,where the
diagnosis was confrmed.
Biopsy
The diagnosis can usually be made
confdently with scan imaging alone
but there has since been a move
towards looking in more detail at the
genetics of the tumour itself and a
biopsy may provide further information
on this. However a biopsy carries its
own risks and it will depend on the
surgeon and hospital. Biopsies were not
offered at the time of Katie’s illness but
they will be used more in the future with
the aim of improving treatment.