Sometimes, pain or other issues pop up and it's not clear what's happening. We may want to take a look inside of you to see what the problem is. An ultrasound is a tool that lets us see inside you. We can use them to check you when you have abdominal pain, neck or thyroid problems, issues around your groin, blood clots, different types of hernias, and issues with your liver, gallbladder, or kidneys. Ultrasounds let us:
- Find an injury or signs of a disease
- See gallstones, kidney stones, appendicitis, or other causes of pain
- Find masses or tumors
- Rule out twisting in your ovaries or scrotum (torsion)
- See your organs to check if there are issues
- Check your blood vessels
- See your baby to check how it's developing
How Do Ultrasounds Work?
A machine makes sound waves that we use to see inside of your body. We can also take pictures of the inside of you with the ultrasound.
During an Ultrasound
Ultrasounds aren't painful, and you can go about your day after one. They usually only last about 30 minutes.
You'll lie on a table. A gel is put over the area that we check with the ultrasound. The gel helps the sound waves travel into your body.
The sound waves come through a hand-held wand attached to the machine. We push the wand against your skin. The wand sends the sound waves into your body.
A computer can see the sound waves bounce off of your organs. It makes the echoes into images on a screen.
We may ask you to change positions or hold your breath.
Getting Your Results
The images we take are looked at by specialists. They make a report that is given to your doctor. Your doctor will talk through the results with you.