Abdominal ultrasound is one of the safest and most versatile technologies for providing diagnostic images. At Washington Institute of Surgery in Chevy Chase, Maryland, distinguished surgeon Mohammed Kalan, MD, FRCS, FACS, provides advanced ultrasound services that include bedside scanning and ultrasound elastography. If you’re in need of a superior surgeon with state-of-the-art facilities, please call Washington Institute of Surgery today or book an appointment online at the Washington, DC area office.
Abdominal ultrasound is an imaging technology that creates real-time moving pictures of your internal organs and tissues using high-frequency sound waves.
The ultrasound machine produces sound waves that are of such a high-frequency, human ears can’t hear them. The sound waves come out of a handpiece called a transducer as it slides over your skin. They hit the organs and tissues in your abdomen and bounce back.
The software in the ultrasound machine converts the returning sound waves into images that it displays on a monitor for assessment.
An abdominal ultrasound is a useful tool for diagnosing a wide range of organ and soft tissue conditions. An abdominal ultrasound can help Dr. Kalan at the Washington Institute of Surgery see any damage or abnormalities in your organs, including:
You might need to undergo an abdominal ultrasound if you have symptoms like bloating or stomach pain that doesn’t have any other apparent causes.
At the Washington Institute of Surgery, you can have bedside ultrasound evaluations for patient convenience. The practice also offers the advanced FibroScan® ultrasound elastography. This state-of-the-art technology measures the stiffness of the tissue in your liver, which is a noninvasive way of diagnosing fibrosis.
Abdominal ultrasound can be an effective method of checking for problems like gallstones and tumors.
Abdominal ultrasounds aren’t painful, and you won’t need any anesthetic or sedative beforehand. The gel that goes on your abdomen to help the transducer glide smoothly across your skin can be quite cold at first, but the only other sensation you might feel is pressure.
Abdominal ultrasounds are also very safe procedures. Ultrasound doesn’t use any form of radiation like other diagnostic imaging tests, and there’s no evidence that the sound waves cause any harm whatsoever. It’s so safe it’s the test all pregnant women have to check the development of their babies.
Depending on the reason for your abdominal ultrasound, your procedure could take around 30 minutes to an hour.
Please call Washington Institute of Surgery now to find out more, or book an appointment online.
