Advanced Imaging Centers

Easy to find, plenty of parking, friendly and competent staff. All good things.
I had a breast MRI here this afternoon and it was my first time. I found ample parking to the side of the large 880 Kempsville Rd. location just past the actual Sentara Leigh hospital where the surgeons and doctors are. This building is the little brown building with automatic glass doors off the left of the 880 Sentara Leigh building. There was a ton of parking so that’s a plus and they have large nice automatic glass doors going either left or right when you enter. The imaging center is to the right as an addiction treatment center of some sort was through the automatic door to the left.
There is a large check-​in reception desk upon entry so it’s obvious where to go and the ladies are ready and waiting for you once you provide your name. I didn’t wait long, had a little paperwork to fill out. The waiting area is clean, with two large clean bathrooms, a small refreshment area with coffee and water, and plenty of seating with magazines.
Once I was called back (shortly after I finished my paperwork) I had to remove all my jewelry and metal stuff and put it in a locker which had a little key I took with me into the MRI exam room.
I put my gown on and walked down the hall where two nice ladies helped me get the IV (ouchie and not my fav) and helped me get set up on the MRI table. They covered my feet with blankets so I wouldn’t be cold and told me how everything would go.
The MRI itself wasn’t too bad but if you are claustrophobic I would imagine it would be horrific. I couldn’t even turn my head from side to side inside the tube because it was so small and cramped (and I’m 5’4 and 115 pounds). The worst part for me was the IV and the really loud sounds. I got really cold because you have to lay on the table in a superman position with your arms out in front of you like you are trying to fly. I’m typically cold with bad circulation anyway so laying on a table like that for 20 – 30 minutes wasn’t good for the limited circulation I already have. So I was freezing and the contrast dye only seemed to make me colder though everyone said it would make me warm… hmmm…
It was over fairly quickly but it was pretty unenjoyable — I would imagine anything like that is — but this would be on the high end of things I would prefer not to do ever again…
The whole thing was approx. 45 minutes or so and I did find the place to be clean with pleasant staff. So they made it less bad.