Most of the organs of the body are situated in the abdominal region. Most of the gastrointestinal system is present in the abdominal region and ultrasound is the gold standard of investigation for the problems in the gastrointestinal system. The abdominal area begins just below the rib cage and extends upto the pelvic region. It houses gall bladder, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, stomach, common bile duct, kidneys, urinary bladder. Prostate for men and ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus for women all come in this region. Ultrasound is the best diagnostic modality for the scanning of soft tissues and most of the organs in the abdominal region are soft in their character. The ultrasound study is done per abdomen in which a probe is moved all over the abdomen and different organs are seen on the computer screen. The radiologist is trained to identify the size, shape and echotexture of each organ and thereby diagnose the presence of any disease in any of these organs. The studies done under this category are Ultrasound of Lower Abdomen, Upper Abdomen or Whole Abdomen. For Upper Abdomen and Whole Abdomen ultrasound, the patient has to be in fasting for 4-5 hours. For lower abdomen ultrasound the patient should not pass urine for 1-2 hours before the study.
Ultrasound of the abdomen is used to diagnose gall stones, cbd stone, liver diseases, pancreatic stone or pancreatitis, kidney stones, urinary bladder problems, ovarian cyst, uterine fibroids, ureteric stones, intestinal obstruction or perforation, appendicitis. Almost 60-70% patients who come to the hospital with the complaint of pain abdomen, vomitting, menstrual disorders, diahorrea are advised to undergo an ultrasound scan of the abdomen. Ultrasound is one of the cheapest and most effective diagnostic tool. In order to get a quality ultrasound the combination of a good 3D Ultrasound Machine and an experienced radiologist is of paramount importance. The ultrasound machines at all our centres are 3D/4D and all the probes have more than 10000 channels for crystal clear grey scale images. Stones of the size 2-3 mm are also visible with such high resolution probes. The best advantage of ultrasound scan is that it is free of any radiation and even a pregnant woman can undergo any number of ultrasound scans without causing any damage to her body or the foetus in her tummy. Ultrasound is an excellent modality for early detection of any kind of cancer in the body.
Ultrasound is one of the cheapest diagnostic modality and offers great value for money proposition. Ultrasound scan of the abdomen is priced in the range of Rs. 1500 - 2500 for upper, lower and whole abdomen. The time taken for doing the ultrasound scan of the abdomen is 10-15 minutes and the report is made available within 15-30 minutes of the scan being completed. In one visit the patient can have the diagnosis and the treatment can commence immediately. If the patient is suffering from acute abdominal pain then ultrasound become an emergency test and should be done immediately for cases of acute appendicitis and acute pancreatitis. Most of the appointments of ultrasound abdomen are given in the morning around 9 am so that the patient can come for the test in fasting. Fasting of 4-5 hours is required to do ultrasound of the upper abdomen and can be done at any time of the day. No fasting is required for lower abdomen ultrasound. We have multiple centres in the NCR Region and you can get appointment at any our centres by calling on the numbers +91-8800188334 / 8800188335 / 8800188336.
Dr Rajesh Choudhary has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Radiology. Dr Choudhary has been trained in the latest radiological techniques from Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner and PGI Chandigarh.
Dr Shruti Sangwan has been trained at Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College, PGI Chandigarh and Artemis Hospital Bhiwadi in the field of Radiology and has more than 18 years of experience.