Preparing for an ultrasound scan

ABOUT THE TEST:

Ultrasound – a medical diagnostic examination that uses a device emitting ultrasound waves to view the inside of many organs in our body. An ultrasound machine consists of two parts: a probe that receives ultrasound waves and a unit that processes the received signals into an image.

HOW THE SCAN IS PERFORMED:

An ultrasound scan is performed while you are lying down. The doctor applies gel to your skin. They then move the probe over the organs being examined. An image showing the internal areas of the organ being examined appears on a monitor and can be recorded on paper or videotape at any stage. The scan takes a dozen or so minutes.

PURPOSE OF THE SCAN:

Ultrasound shows the shape and size of organs (the liver, pancreas and kidneys), as well as abnormal areas within them. It can also detect fluid in the abdominal cavity. The main purpose of the scan is to identify the nature of disease-related changes in internal organs.

REASONS FOR HAVING THE SCAN:

• Symptoms of an overactive thyroid
• Symptoms of an underactive thyroid
• Increased neck circumference
• Feeling short of breath
• Abnormal laboratory test results
• Acute and chronic abdominal pain
• Abdominal injury
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Weight loss
• Raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

PREPARATION AND CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR THE SCAN:

– Abdominal ultrasound

5 hours before the scan:

• do not eat
• do not drink fizzy or sweetened drinks (you may drink still water)
• do not smoke
• do not chew gum

1 hour before the scan

• drink a litre of still water
• do not pass urine until after the scan

Please bring a small towel with you to your ultrasound scan

– Ultrasound of the urinary tract, prostate gland and female reproductive organs

A full bladder is required to obtain clear ultrasound images of the pelvic organs through the abdominal wall. A bladder filled with urine pushes loops of bowel out of the pelvis and provides an “ultrasound window”, allowing the female reproductive organs, the male prostate gland and the bladder to be viewed.

How to prepare for the scan:

5 hours before the scan:

• do not eat
• do not smoke
• do not chew gum

1 hour before the scan:

• drink 1 litre of still water
• do not pass urine

This scan, like all ultrasound examinations, is not harmful. It is painless and carries no risk to the patient, so there are no contraindications to having it. If necessary, it can be repeated many times without putting the patient at risk.

Please bring a small towel with you to your ultrasound scan

HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIT FOR YOUR ULTRASOUND RESULT?

You receive your result on the day of the scan as a written report with printouts of the ultrasound images attached. The result report is issued in Polish. The doctor performing the scan assesses and interprets the images and discusses the findings with you on site.

WHERE AND HOW CAN YOU HAVE AN ULTRASOUND SCAN in Gdańsk?

Ultrasound scans in Gdańsk are performed using modern GE and Toshiba machines at ETER-MED branch no. 1 at ul. Jaskółcza 7/15 – level -1, and branch no. 2 at ul. Górskiego 1.