# CT scan at Desert Imaging West

At 122 W. Castellano Dr., El Paso, TX 79912.

- Address: 122 W. Castellano Dr., El Paso, TX 79912. [Get directions](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Desert%20Imaging%2C%20122%20W.%20Castellano%20Dr.%2C%20El%20Paso%2C%20TX%2079912)
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Closed Sunday.
- Time: 3 to 5 minutes of scanning. Add an hour if you drink contrast.

## About this exam

A CT scan, also called a CAT scan, is an X-ray machine joined to a computer. The tube circles you and the computer turns hundreds of thin X-ray views into cross-section pictures, like slices of a loaf of bread, that can also be stacked into a 3D view.

You lie on a table that slides into a short, open ring. It is not a tunnel. The scanner hums as it turns and the table moves in small steps or one smooth pass. Your job is to lie still and, for chest and abdomen scans, to hold your breath for a few seconds.

[Everything about CT scan](https://desertimagingcenters.com/services/ct-scan)

## Before you come

### CT of abdomen and pelvis with oral contrast

- Drink the oral contrast one hour before the exam.
- You may pick up the contrast the day before at Castellano, Gateway or Lee Trevino, or arrive one hour early on the day of the exam and we will give it to you.
- Let us know which option you prefer when you schedule.

### CT exams with contrast

- Do not eat for 4 to 6 hours before the exam.
- Drink water only.
- The sheet says: no diabetic medication on the day of the exam.

### All other CT exams

- No preparation required.

### Questions before any CT exam

- You may be asked whether you are pregnant, whether you are allergic to iodine or any medication, and whether you have had head, heart or joint surgery or a joint replacement.
- You may also be asked whether you wear permanent eyeliner, whether you have ever worked with metal, and whether you have any metal implanted in your body, such as an artificial hip or a pacemaker.

## CT scan at our other centers

- [Central](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/central/ct-scan): 7812 Gateway Blvd. East, Suite 120, El Paso, TX 79915
- [East](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/lee-trevino/ct-scan): 1727 Lee Trevino Dr., El Paso, TX 79935

## Other exams at West

- [3D mammography](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/3d-mammography)
- [MRI and MRA](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/mri)
- [Ultrasound](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/ultrasound)
- [X-ray](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/x-ray)
- [Bone density](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/bone-density)
- [Heart tests](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/heart-tests)
- [Thyroid biopsy](https://desertimagingcenters.com/locations/west/thyroid-biopsy)

## Ready to book?

Request an appointment online and bring your doctor's order. We take it from there.

- [Request an appointment](https://eforms.abbadox.com/240384671438865)
- Call (915) 577-0100