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- What health conditions can an abdominal ultrasound detect?
- Is an abdominal ultrasound a safe procedure?
- How to prepare yourself before and after the procedure?
What is an abdominal ultrasound?
An abdominal ultrasound is a medical imaging modality utilizing inaudible high-frequency sound waves to generate images of the organs and blood vessels in your abdomen. A radiologist glides the transducer over your abdomen while transmitting high-frequency sound waves to differentially bounce off organs, blood vessels, and soft tissues to form images. Abdominal ultrasound is typically an outpatient procedure.
What are the utilities of abdominal ultrasound?
- Prenatal ultrasound to monitor the development of a fetus during pregnancy.
- Abdominal ultrasound for evaluation of your digestive tract and abdominal organs such as the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, biliary tree, spleen, kidneys, bladder, and abdominal aorta.
What health conditions can an abdominal ultrasound detect?
An abdominal ultrasound is employed to diagnose and assess a range of health issues, including:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Abdominal cysts or tumors
- Biliary tract
- Certain types of cancer
- Gallstones
- Acute cholecystitis
- Pancreatitis
- Enlarged spleen
- Fatty liver disease
- Liver disease
- Kidney stones
- Bladder stones
- Kidney cancer
- Uterine tumors
- Ovarian cysts and tumors
Is an abdominal ultrasound a safe procedure?
Abdominal ultrasound is a safe and painless procedure. There are no radiation or known risks associated with an abdominal ultrasound. However, you may have transient discomfort if your doctor presses on a tender area.
How to prepare yourself before the procedure?
- Check with your doctor if you need to refrain from eating and drinking for 8-12 hours before the procedure.
- Do not stop taking usual medications unless advised by your doctor.
- Avoid wearing valuable jewelry to the procedure.
During the procedure
While lying comfortably on your back on an examination table, your doctor will apply a clear gel to your abdomen. This gel helps the ultrasound probe transmit and receive sound waves more effectively, producing clear images of your internal organs. The doctor will then gently move the probe over your abdomen, capturing reflections of the sound waves as they bounce off your organs. These reflections produce images on a computer screen, allowing your doctor to visualize your abdominal structure in real-time. The entire abdominal ultrasound examination typically takes around 30 minutes.
After the procedure
You can go home and resume your daily activities immediately.
A radiologist will analyze your ultrasound images and report the findings to your doctor.
Questions to ask your doctor:
- Are there any additional tests that I might need?
- What preparations are necessary for my abdominal ultrasound?
- When can I anticipate receiving my test results?
FAQ
- Can you drink water before an abdominal ultrasound?
Stop eating or drinking for 8-12 hours before the procedure is ideal. Sipping a small amount of water with daily medication is acceptable. However, check with your doctor for specific guidelines.
Note from MedPark’s Doctors
Abdominal ultrasound is a safe, non-invasive, and quick procedure. It can help your doctor to diagnose and plan proper and accurate treatment.
