INTRAVENOUS UROGRAPHY (IVU):

Intravenous Urography or IVU is the process of injecting dye intravenously in the body to obtain images of the kidneys, uterus, and bladder. Since the dye is radio-opaque, it can be seen well with x-rays. X-ray images are taken at specific intervals to capture the contrast as the dye travels through the different components of the urinary system. Thus IVU provides invaluable information of the patient’s anatomy to the urologist, together with vital information about his/ her renal system.

IVU can prove to be an indispensable tool, in or more of the following cases:

1. Kidney stones: A stone which has formed in the kidney or in the ureter will reveal itself quite clearly.
2. Blood in the urine: When micturition or urination becomes difficult and painful, together with the release of blood along with the urine, IVU may help to find out the exact cause, which may be inflammation, infection or even tumors of the kidney.
3. Urine infections: If one has infections of the bladder or the kidney which happens to be recurring, IVU may help to find out of blockages or other abnormalities in the urinary tract.
4. Obstruction or damage to any region of the urinary tract can be seen by IVU.
5. Abdominal injuries.
6. . Flank pain (possibly due to renal stones or kidney stones).

For IVU, a patient is supposed to undergo overnight fasting, coupled with a good preparation of the colon with the help of laxatives.

The concerned technologist will meticulously go through your previous reports, and after that, an iodine-based contrast dye will be injected into a vein of your arm. A series of x-ray images at definite intervals will be taken to know how your kidneys remove the dye and how it is collected in your urine.

A compression device might be used to keep the contrast material in the kidneys.

The procedure generally takes about an hour to complete.