Breast Ultrasound

Breast ultrasound is a noninvasive diagnostic imaging procedure that uses painless sound waves to produce pictures of your breast’s tissues. Dedicated sonographer Joyce Morris, RVT, and her colleagues at JerBear Imaging in Brownwood, Texas, specialize in ultrasound. Their expertise ensures your doctor receives clear, accurate images that optimize treatment for breast cancer and other breast disorders. Call JerBear Imaging or request a consultation online today to arrange your breast ultrasound.

What is a breast ultrasound?

Breast ultrasound produces a picture of your breast’s internal structures by bouncing high-frequency sound waves off the tissues. A computer analyzes the returning sound waves, using their speed, frequency, and volume to create images on a monitor.

The sonographer may also use Doppler techniques to examine breast blood flow or lack of blood flow in a breast mass.

Why might I need a breast ultrasound?

Breast ultrasound has several uses, including the following:

Breast abnormality diagnosis 

Breast ultrasound helps your doctor diagnose problems like lumps and nipple discharge. Ultrasound can also provide additional information about abnormalities that show up on a mammogram or breast MRI. Using breast ultrasound, it’s possible to determine if a lump is solid, fluid-filled, or both.

Supplementary breast cancer screening

A mammogram (breast X-ray) is the gold-standard breast cancer screening tool, proven to reduce deaths by enabling doctors to make an early diagnosis. However, mammograms don’t detect every breast cancer because some abnormalities don’t show up or are hard to interpret.

This is particularly true in dense breasts with less fat and many glands, ducts, and fibrous tissues. Breast ultrasound may identify cancers and other abnormalities that mammography can’t, including some that require a biopsy (tissue sample extraction and analysis).

Breast ultrasound is a valuable screening tool for women with a high risk of breast cancer who can’t have an MRI, are pregnant, or shouldn’t undergo the X-ray exposure required for a mammogram.

Ultrasound-guided breast biopsy

If diagnostic imaging identifies a suspicious breast lump, your doctor may recommend a biopsy using real-time ultrasound images to guide them. You’ll likely need a breast ultrasound before the biopsy to ensure this method is suitable and plan the procedure.

What does a breast ultrasound involve?

For a breast ultrasound, you lie on your back or side on the exam table. Joyce may ask you to raise your arm for better access. She applies a special gel to your skin and moves the transducer over the area.

Sound waves travel between the transducer and your abdomen, producing an image you can see on a video screen.

Breast ultrasound typically takes no more than 30 minutes. When the procedure’s complete, Joyce wipes away the gel. You’re free to go about your day as usual after a breast ultrasound.

Call JerBear Imaging to schedule a breast ultrasound, or use the online booking feature to request a consultation today.