Articles

Ultrasound FAQs

by Ruby Liu Sales Manager
An ultrasound exam is a way of looking inside your  body (liver, kidneys, and intestines etc) without having to perform surgery.  The ultrasound machine sends sound waves into the body and then listens for the echoes, the machine then uses these echoes to form a picture of the inside of your body!  Don’t worry, these sound waves are too high in pitch for us, or any of our patients, to hear and produce no harmful effects as a diagnostic tool.

Why does a patient Need an Ultrasound Exam?
Ultrasound exams are performed for many reasons.  In human medicine, most of us think about ultrasound exams during pregnancy.  However, ultrasound is a safe, repeatable way to look inside the body, it has become a very useful tool for many other situations.

Your doctor may have requested an ultrasound exam of your body for one of the following reasons:

Abnormal bloodwork 
Vomiting or diarrhea that has lasted for a long time 
Weight loss with no change in eating habits 
Chronic infections 
Change in urinary habits 
Baseline ultrasound for future examination (geriatric patients) 
Recheck on previous problem 
Cancer staging 
Fluid in chest or abdomen 
Pregnancy 
Pre-surgical 
To permit biopsy 


WHAT WILL YOU BE ABLE TO TELL BY DOING THE ULTRASOUND EXAM?
Ultrasound allows us to examine internal organs for location, size, shape, texture and blood supply.  Unfortunately, ultrasound does not always give us a clear picture of how well the specific organ is working, this may be determined by other tests such as bloodwork or additional imaging.  

It is not uncommon to find “masses” within the organs being examined by ultrasound although many of these turn out to be normal changes that occur as patients age.  It cannot always be determined by ultrasound alone if the mass is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancer).  The doctor will look at your  medical history and current concern, as well as the entire ultrasound exam to make a diagnosis and recommendations for further tests.  

Further tests may include an ultrasound-guided aspirate of a mass found on ultrasound (obtaining a very small sample of the tissue with a needle), bloodwork, additional imaging, recheck imaging or surgery.  You will always be contacted prior to any additional procedures.


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About Ruby Liu Junior   Sales Manager

1 connections, 0 recommendations, 11 honor points.
Joined APSense since, August 27th, 2013, From Shenzhen, China.

Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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