Myelogram
A Myelogram may be performed if you have general back pain, or previous surgery, implanted hardware or other reasons for not being able to have an MRI exam, including severe claustrophobia.
What are the anticipated benefits?
A Myelogram is a diagnostic imaging exam picturing the spinal cord and column in order to reveal the root cause of your pain and help your doctor determine a proper treatment path. It is not intended to relieve your pain.
How does it work?
A Myelogram usually takes 45-50 minutes. After the Myelogram, a CT scan will be done to gather detailed cross-sectional images of your spine, which will take an additional 15-30 minutes.
You will be positioned on your side, stomach or in a sitting position on a special table in our Diagnostic and Therapeutic Injections (DTI) suite. The C-arm (a special x-ray machine) can be rotated to allow the radiologist to monitor the injection to make sure he is precise in targeting the pain source. In addition, the table can be easily rotated to help the contrast dye move to the area of interest.
One of our specialized radiologists will insert a thin needle containing contrast material into the interthecal sac and inject the contrast material.
The radiologist will monitor the flow of contrast with fluoroscopy as the fluid flows up the spine with the assistance of the tilting DTI table, and take static x-ray pictures. While the contrast is still in effect, you will be moved to a computed tomography (CT) suite for an additional imaging scan that will help better define abnormalities.
After the procedure, you will need to lie down for 24 hours.
Are there any risks or negative side affects?
Complication rates with Myelograms are very low.
As with all injection procedures, the contrast dye contains iodine, so patients with a known allergy to iodine may have an adverse reaction. However, because the contrast is injected into a joint and not a vein, allergic reactions are rare.
Women should always inform their physician or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant or breast feeding.
NOTE: This procedure is not performed in our St. Louis market.