Q:What is Ultrasound?
Q:Is Ultrasound Safe?
Q:Who Will Perform the Examination?
Q:Will the Ultrasound Exam Hurt?
Q:When and How Is Ultrasound Used?
Ultrasound
Your doctor has requested an ultrasound examination, and you may have heard about ultrasound examinations (sonograms), but you still may have unanswered questions. The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) - an organization of doctors, sonographers, and scientists - has put together information to help answer some of the most commonly asked questions.
Common Questions
What Is Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is like ordinary sound except it has a frequency (or pitch) higher than people can hear. When sent into the body from a handheld device called a transducer (scanner) resting on your skin, the sound is reflected off internal structures. The returning echoes are received by the transducer and converted electronically into an image on a monitor.
Is Ultrasound Safe?
There are no known harmful effects associated with the medical use of sonography. Widespread clinical use of diagnostic ultrasound for many years has not revealed any harmful effects. Studies in humans have revealed no direct link between the use of diagnostic ultrasound and any adverse outcomes.
Who Will Perform the Examination?
At The Bermuda Cancer & Health Centre, the examination is
performed by a specially trained health care professional called a sonographer,
who will record a series of images.
Will the Ultrasound Exam Hurt?
There is no pain involved in an ultrasound examination, although you may experience some pressure or discomfort when having a sonogram of certain parts of your body. During the scanning procedure, a gel is applied over the area to be examined and a transducer is placed on your skin or, for certain examinations, inserted into your vagina or rectum. The gel may feel cool but it is water soluble and usually wipes off easily.
When and How Is Ultrasound Used?
There are many medical indications for using diagnostic ultrasound. Pregnancy is probably the most widely recognized reason to have an ultrasound exam, often called a sonogram. There are, however, many organs in the body that can be examined with ultrasound, and your ultrasound will be attributed to a specific ultrasound such as abdomen, breast, Doppler, gynecology, musculoskeletal, obstetrics, pediatrics, thyroid.
Abdomen
There are many reasons for examining the abdomen with ultrasound. Among the more common reasons are -
- To look for causes of upper abdominal pain, including gallstones, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, kidney stones;
- To look for causes of lower abdominal pain, including appendicitis, inflammation of the small and large intestines, and hernias;
- To look for abnormalities that may be present in the abdominal organs, such as masses or enlargements in the spleen or liver;
- To evaluate the nature of a mass that may have been felt by the examining doctor or seen on other radiologic exams;
- To determine the cause of kidney failure, such as kidney disease, urinary blockage;
- To evaluate for the cause of jaundice or abnormal liver enzymes; and
- To look for enlargements (aneurysms) of the abdominal aorta
An ultrasound examination may not provide all the information your doctor needs. In these cases, additional studies may be required.
Your doctor will probably tell you to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or chewing gum for 8 hours prior to the exam if the gallbladder, pancreas, or the upper abdominal blood vessels are going to be scanned during the ultrasound exam. This is because these actions increase the amount of abdominal gas, and most of these actions alter blood flow in upper abdominal organs and cause the gallbladder to contract, preventing an adequate ultrasound examination.
Breast
Information obtained from a breast physical examination alone often is incomplete. Breast sonography, used in conjunction with a physical exam and/or a mammogram, can identify cysts, tumors, abscesses, lymph nodes, and very dense breast tissue.
You will be asked to remove your top and bra. A paper or cloth gown will be given to you to cover yourself. You will be instructed to lie or sit on an examining table. Gel will be placed on your skin and a transducer will be moved over the area to be examined. The room is usually darkened during the examination. After the exam, you can drive home safely and eat and drink normally.
The examiner may feel the area for any lumps while performing the examination. No pain is involved in this type of examination but there is a pressure sensation. The images obtained are seen on a monitor or stored on film.
Results of the examination may vary depending on the type of breast tissue you have. If a suspicious area noted on mammography cannot be seen with ultrasound, it will be evaluated by other means. Your doctor will discuss these options with you during a future appointment.
Doppler
Doppler ultrasound is a special form of ultrasound commonly used to evaluate blood flow. A Doppler ultrasound exam, often called a scan, gives your doctor a great deal of information about your blood vessels and about the way blood is passing through them. Doppler ultrasound is particularly well suited to evaluating problems within your veins and arteries. Because we have blood vessels throughout our bodies, Doppler ultrasound may be used almost anywhere. Some of the most common sites where Doppler ultrasound is used are in the neck, heart, abdomen, and legs.
Gynecology
Information obtained from a manual pelvic exam alone may be incomplete. With a pelvic sonogram, the uterus and ovaries are visualized. The sonogram may help explain findings from the manual exam or provide additional information. Common indications for a pelvic ultrasound examination include pelvic pain, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and suspicion of an abnormality on a manual gynecologic examination.
Abdominal scanning is usually done with you lying flat on an examination table. Garments are elevated or pulled down to expose the lower abdomen from the navel to the pubic bone. Abdominal scanning may or may not require a full bladder. A full bladder provides a "window" through which the pelvic organs may be seen. Your doctor may, therefore, ask you to drink a large quantity of water and/or refrain from urinating just prior to the examination.
Preparations for vaginal scanning are similar to those for a routine manual pelvic examination. You will be asked to empty your bladder prior to the exam and to disrobe from the waist down. You will need to assume a position similar to the one used for a Pap smear. Either your legs can either be placed in stirrups or your buttocks are elevated by a thick cushion.
Musculoskeletal
There are many reasons for examining the musculoskeletal system with ultrasound. Among the more common reasons are
- to look for causes of shoulder pain, including rotator cuff tears, tendinitis, and bursitis;
- to look for causes of elbow pain, including tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, biceps tears, ligament tears, and joint fluid;
- to look for causes of wrist and hand pain, including carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts, and tendinitis;
- to look for causes of knee pain, including muscle and tendon tears, tendinitis, knee fluid, and cysts;
- to look for causes of foot and ankle pain, including Achilles tendon problems, other ankle tendon problems, sprains, plantar fascitis, and Morton's neuroma; and
- to evaluate the nature of a soft tissue mass that may have been felt by the examining doctor or seen on other radiologic exams.
An ultrasound examination may not provide all the information your doctor needs. In these cases, additional studies may be required.
Obstetrics
The most common reason for having an obstetric ultrasound examination is to help your doctor determine when your baby is due or to make sure your baby is growing as it should. Your doctor may also want an ultrasound examination to determine the baby's position or to see if you are carrying more than one baby. With an ultrasound examination, the amount of fluid around your baby can be seen. Ultrasonography also may be used to detect some birth defects.
In most cases, no special preparation is needed for the examination. In some cases, your doctor may recommend an endovaginal ultrasound study, which involves the use of a special transducer in your vagina, to improve visualization of your baby or your cervix. A complete obstetric ultrasound examination usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes.
There is no pain from an ultrasound examination. You may feel some pressure from an endovaginal ultrasound examination in which a probe is inserted in your vagina; the probe is the size of a tampon and is smaller than a speculum. You may choose to insert the probe yourself. The ultrasound examination does not affect your pregnancy.
Pediatrics
There are many reasons why a doctor may want your child to have an ultrasound examination. Some of the more common reasons are these:
- to look for causes of stomach pain.
- to look at the heart and major blood vessels, especially if your child has a heart murmur or an irregular heart beat.
- to look for abnormalities that may be present in the abdominal organs, such as masses or enlargements.
- to evaluate problems of blood flow in the body.
- to look at the kidneys and the entire urinary system.
For a child it is easy to address any fears and get them excited about the examination by reminding them that they know exactly what their OUTSIDE looks like: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and other features that make them unique, but have they ever wondered what's INSIDE their body? What amazing, magical structures they’re made of? All sorts of GREAT PARTS of you are covered by your skin!
Well, there IS something that can look INSIDE you - Presenting . . . The Amazing, Wonderful ULTRASOUND Machine!
An ultrasound machine is a big metal box with a TV screen on top. Something like a little camera is attached by a cord to the ultrasound machine. The little camera is called a "transducer." Sometimes you can see the pictures on the TV while the sonographer looks at them!
So that the sonographer can see the pictures clearly, the lights in the room are usually turned off.
The sound waves can make pictures of all your amazing inside parts that show up on the TV ... in fact YOU are a TV STAR!
Thyroid
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that wraps around the front part of your neck just below your Adam's apple. The thyroid makes hormones that help control your body's metabolism. The hormone produced by the thyroid has an effect on almost every tissue and cell in your body.
There are many reasons for examining the thyroid with ultrasound. The most common reason is to provide more information for your doctor
about a mass your doctor felt while examining you;
- after something unusual was found by other exams, such as a nuclear scan, a CT scan, or an MRI exam;
- about what caused your thyroid gland to get larger;
- about what caused the pain or swelling in your thyroid gland; or
- about abnormalities in your thyroid, such as masses or cysts.
There is no special preparation for this examination. There is no pain involved in an ultrasound examination of the thyroid. The transducer is placed on your skin surface after a gel is applied to your neck to provide better contact. The room is usually darkened during the examination to make it easier for the sonographer or doctor to see the pictures on the computer screen. After the examination, you may safely drive home and eat and drink normally.