The Lister Hospital
Chelsea Bridge Road, SW1W 8RH London
MR pneumocolon
SCAN TO STUDY THE LARGE BOWEL
An MR pneumocolon is a special study of the large bowel. HCA UK experts explain more about the procedure.
Our MR pneumocolon locations
The Wellington Hospital
8A Wellington Place NW8 9LE London
London Bridge Hospital
27 Tooley Street SE1 2PR London
The Harley Street Clinic
35 Weymouth Street W1G 8BJ London
The Princess Grace Hospital
42-52 Nottingham Place W1U 5NY London
The Shard Outpatients
The Shard, 32 St Thomas Street SE1 9BS London
London Digestive Centre
41 Welbeck Street W1G 8EA London
What is a MR pneumocolon?
An MR pneumocolon is a special study of the large bowel (part of the digestive system, made up of the colon and rectum).
It helps doctors to identify any irritated tissue, ulcers or growths, and can help to diagnose conditions such as bowel cancer.
Need to know
The study involves using an MRI scan, where magnetic fields and radio waves are used to generate detailed images of the body. You’ll lie on a bed which moves into the MRI scanner. It’s not painful, but you will need to lie still to enable the radiographer to obtain the best images.
Although this examination primarily focuses on the large bowel, the rest of the abdomen is also visible. The images taken can help to identify any irritated tissue, ulcers or growths such as polyps, as well as helping to diagnose conditions such as bowel cancer.
To improve the image, patients need to specially prepare by ensuring that their large bowel is empty, which involves taking a laxative before the procedure. Sometimes the scanner makes loud noises and beeps during the scan, so you may be given ear protection to wear, such as ear plugs or headphones. The whole process of preparing for the scan and acquiring the images will take around two hours.
The MR pneumocolon is performed by a radiographer and your results are reported by a consultant radiologist. After the procedure, the images will be examined further by the radiologist, who will then report the results to your referring doctor within 24 - 48 hours.