Ultrasound is a medical technique which has greatly enhanced procedural safety.  The procedure requires hands-on simulation based training to learn but then ultrasound guided central lines may be performed safely and easily by an doctor or midlevel healthcare provider.

• Vascular ultrasound  provides the physician with imaging of the patient’s veins and arteries.  The physician may interpret the images and information collected during a vascular ultrasound to help diagnose or rule out potential issues in the vascular system and recommend treatment accordingly.
• Cardiac ultrasound  provides the physician with important information about cardiac activity.  The physician may interpret the images and information collected during a cardiac ultrasound to diagnosed pericardial tamponade, left ventricular dysfunction and right ventricular strain.  These studies provide important information when determining the cause of hypotension when a patient is in shock.
• Breast ultrasound provides the physician with internal imaging of the patients breast tissue.  One of the most common reason to perform a breast ultrasound is to analyze lumps or cysts.  Breast ultrasound is a highly valuable procedure for early detection of serious breast related issues.
• Abdominal ultrasound  provides the physician with imaging of several of the patients internal organs.  The physician may elect to perform an abdominal ultrasound to aid in their analysis of a variety of abdominal issues including irregular function, pain, or enlargement.
• There are three variations of the Pelvic ultrasound – rectal, vaginal, and abdominal.  Like other ultrasound procedures these are used to collect valuable diagnostic insight.
  • An Obstetrical ultrasound is perhaps the most well known ultrasound.  An Obstetrician performs this procedure to image a fetus or embryo and to collect information during a female patient’s pregnancy.
  • A physician may request a Thyroid ultrasound if they suspect a patient is experiencing abnormal thyroid activity.  Based on the thyroid imaging the physican may recommend follow up tests or procedures accordingly.
  • A Scrotum ultrasound provides testicular imaging in a male patient and is used to detect or analyze testicular masses, testicular pain, and other related issues.

As you can see ultrasound is a valuable tool which may be regularly utilized by a wide variety of physicians for diagnostic and analytical purposes.  Vascular ultrasound in particular helps to assist in other medical procedures such as central line placement.

If you have specific questions or would like to further discuss any ultrasound guided procedure we invite you to ask an HPC physician personally by contacting us at www.Facebook.com/HospitalProcedures.  We encourage discussion regarding any medical procedure you’re interested in and we look forward to hearing from you.