Not being able to obtain appropriate scans due to obesity really throws a wrench into the diagnostic workup:
When Dr. Susannah Cornes’ patient came in with paralysis and numbness, she wanted an MRI to look at the spinal cord. But the machine couldn’t handle someone of her patient’s size — more than 350 pounds.Absent that option, Cornes, a UCSF resident in neurology, recommended exploratory surgery. The patient declined, choosing instead to live with the numbness and limited movement.
It’s a problem doctors say they see as frequently as once a month as the number of people with morbid obesity climbs in the United States: A patient complains of abdominal pain. A CT scan or MRI could pinpoint the problem, but the patient is too heavy or too large for the machine to handle.
(via The Medical Quack)
