Lymphoscintigraphy

If your child’s doctor has recommended lymphoscintigraphy, you may be wondering what exactly the procedure entails—and what it means for your child.

We’ve put together some information on the procedure as well as a list of questions that parents frequently ask our doctors. We’ll give you some background on nuclear medicine, describe what the test shows and talk about your experience at the hospital when you come in for your child’s lymphoscintigraphy.

The bottom line on lymphoscintigraphy?

• It’s a noninvasive medical imaging test that helps your child's doctor diagnose problems related to the lymphatic system.
•  At Children’s, the test is performed in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging  and provides images of your child’s lymphatic system.

How Children’s Hospital Boston conducts a lymphoscintigraphy

The Division of Nuclear Medicine at Children’s is committed to providing a safe, comfortable and child-friendly atmosphere with:

• specialized nuclear medicine physicians with expertise in interpreting lymphoscintigraphies in children of all ages
   
• certified nuclear medicine technologists with years of experience imaging children and teens
   
• equipment adapted for pediatric use, which means age-appropriate care for your child
   
• protocols that keep your child’s radiation exposure as low as reasonably achievable while assuring high image quality

Lymphoscintigraphy: Reviewed by Frederick Grant, MD.
© Children’s Hospital Boston, 2010