Mary has a Mag 3 Scan

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Together they sat down and Mary listened while her mother explained that first of all they would go on to the ward where the nurses would want to weigh her, measure her height and blood pressure. Then she would need to do a wee into a cardboard container so that a sample could be sent to the lab to be tested. Mary knew that none of these things hurt although the blood pressure machine would squeeze her arm firmly.

After that the nurse would put some EMLA or Ametop or “cold spray” (ethyl chloride) on Mary’s hand and cover it up. That would mean that she would not feel how sharp the needle was when the doctor came to take her blood. As it would take about an hour for the EMLA cream to work, Mary was happy to learn that she could go into the playroom to play while she waited.

Then a tiny plastic tube like a needle would be put into her hand where the EMLA cream had been. The little tube would be stuck down with tape to keep it safe and this meant that Mary would not have to have any more needles that day. The doctors could take blood or give injections using the tube. Mary felt that all this would be O.K. as she knew that this would not hurt.

Once the tube was in place, they could go to another place called Nuclear Medicine where they would carry out the ‘Maggie’. There they would give an injection of special dye into a little tube. This would go into Mary’s kidneys and when she had the ‘Maggie’ it would help to show how her kidneys were working.

NKF Controlled Document No. 107, Mary has a Mag 3 Scan - 2, written 31 January 2007. Last reviewed 31 January 2009.

Content compiled by members of the Children’s Renal & Urology Unit, QMC Campus, Nottingham University Hospitals.

The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for information provided. The above is for guidance only. Patients are advised to seek further information from their own doctor.

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