Nuclear Medicine for Adults

What happens during a nuclear medicine procedure?
A nuclear medicine procedure involves the use of a radioactive agent (radiopharmaceutical) and some sophisticated instruments. The procedure is safe. The only discomfort occurs when we set an intravenous plug in your hand or foot and give the radiopharmaceutical injection.

Images are taken either immediately, after a short wait time, or within the next few hours; depending on the type of scan requested. You will lie on a couch and a scanner will take the images by picking up signals from the injected radiopharmaceutical in your body. The scanner itself does not produce radiation.

What is a radiopharmaceutical? Is it safe?
It is a chemical compound that contains a small and safe amount of radioactive substance with a short half-life. That is, the substance ceases to be radioactive within a day.

Should I be hospitalized for the procedure?
No hospital stay is needed for the procedure. However, the requesting clinician may recommend you to be admitted to the ward for additional preparations or other special reasons.

Please discuss this further with your doctor for better understanding.

Will I be sedated for the procedure?
No sedation is needed for an adult patient, but keeping still is essential to ensure images are of good quality. Sedation is mostly required for small children who are restless or frightful, to keep them still when the camera is taking the images.

Who performs the procedure?
A radiologist (a doctor specializing in the field of radiology) will inject the radiopharmaceutical. A radiographer (a trained technologist) will control the scanner and take the images. After which, the radiologist will analyze the images and provide a report.

Who will tell us the result? And when?
When the report is ready, the doctor in the clinic or ward will review it, together with the results of other tests that you might have done. The doctor will discuss the findings with you during your medical review.

Are there any special preparations for nuclear medicine procedures?
No special preparation is needed for an adult patient. Please be assured that the procedure is safe and relatively painless.

Is there any special post-procedure care?
It is recommended to drink more fluids, in order for the radiopharmaceutical to be discharged from the body through the urine rapidly. It takes about a day for the clearance.

If you are living with young children (12 years old and below) or a pregnant mother, you are encouraged to avoid prolonged close contact with them. A good practice is to keep a safe distance of 1m apart for approximately a day (from the time the radiopharmaceutical was administered).

What to do if I am Breastfeeding and doing NM scan?
If you are breastfeeding, you may follow the steps below:

• Day before scan
  Before the scan date, do consider pumping and storing enough breast milk for your baby’s consumption until it is safe to resume breastfeeding after the scan procedure.
• Day 1
  X Stop breastfeeding completely after the injection of the radioisotope. Express the breast milk and discard it.
  X Do not carry your child. It is best to have another caregiver during this time.
• Day 2
  X No breastfeeding and holding your child for too long.
  √ You may express your breast milk and discard it.
• Day 3
  √ You can resume breastfeeding and caring for your child as usual.

How long will the visit take?
Please be prepared to spend a few hours to half a day or even a full day, according to the type of examination. We will provide further details when your appointment is being scheduled.

Please take note of the arrival time given and inform us if you are likely to be late.

How soon should I inform the hospital if I need to reschedule the procedure?
If you are unwell or unable to keep the appointment for other reasons, please inform us at least one working day in advance to reschedule the procedure.

We do appreciate your early notice because each radiopharmaceutical is individually prepared for each patient in a special laboratory outside the hospital and must be discarded if not used.

Unused radiopharmaceutical would still be charged to your hospital billing accordingly.