X-Ray

X-ray is a fast and painless imaging procedure that uses a minimal amount of ionizing radiation to produce images of different parts of the human body. It is the first level in imaging to be used to look at the skeletal system and help detect a number of conditions ranging from congenital anomalies of the bones, infections, tumors, and fractures resulting from a traumatic injury.

Services Offered:

Routine Plain X-Ray Procedures:

• Abdomen – to look for fecal retention, foreign body, ileus (bowel condition), obstruction
• Chest/Lungs – routine medical exam to check the presence of pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other pathologies of the chest
• Dental Panoramic X-ray – provides images of the entire mouth area, including the gums, and interior of the teeth
• Facial Bones – to look for facial fracture
• Hip and Pelvis – to look for arthropathies (joint diseases), fracture
• Lower Extremities – includes the ankle, foot, knee, leg, thigh, and toe
• Rib Cage – to look for fracture
• Scanogram – leg length measurement for discrepancy assessment among children
• Scoliosis Series – spine alignment analysis
• Sinuses – rules out acute or chronic sinusitis
• Skull – to look for fracture
• Upper Extremities – includes the arm, elbow, finger, forearm, hand, shoulder, and wrist
• Whole Spine – includes cervical, coccyx/tailbone, lumbar, sacrum, and thoracic

Contrast-Enhanced Fluoroscopic Examinations (Special Procedures):

• Chest Fluoroscopy – non-contrast-enhanced imaging test or sometimes referred to as Sniff Test – used to evaluate the functionality and inconsistency of the chest cavity by viewing its live images through an X-ray machine
• Distal Colonography – diagnostic investigation of anus/rectum malformations and other obstructive disorders of the far end of the colon
• Esophagogram – study of the esophagus for individuals with swallowing difficulty due to cancer, narrowing, ulcers, and other abnormalities which obstruct the movement of food into the stomach
• Fistulogram – examination being used to determine the size and shape of a fistula, an abnormal connection between two (2) body parts
• Hysterosalpingography – imaging test often requested for women of child-bearing age that enables doctors identify problems of the female reproductive system
• Intravenous Pyelography – diagnostic procedure wherein a contrast material is injected into a blood vessel to highlight the kidneys and urinary tract to look for irregularities
• Lower Gastrointestinal Series or Barium Enema – diagnostic test that allows physicians to examine the entirety of the large colon by tracking the flow of contrast material or barium solution through the lower intestinal track. This is commonly done for patients with changes in bowel movements, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and blood in the stool
• T-Tube Cholangiography – involves a dye or contrast media injected through a catheter attached into surgical site to help in the visualization of bile ducts and gall bladder for calcific densities or gallstones
• Upper Gastrointestinal and Small Bowel Series – study of the gastrointestinal tract: the esophagus, stomach, and small intestines; helps doctors track down the intestinal movement of food in the stomach, scarring or inflammation of the digestive tract, and other abnormalities that cause nausea, pain, and/or discomfort in the abdominal area
• Voiding Cystourethrography – performed in children, in most cases, to evaluate the capacity and emptying capability of the urinary bladder and lower urinary tract

Chairperson of the Department of Radiology:
Jackson U. Dy, MD

Section Chief of X-Ray:
Gerardo L. Beltran, MD