Ultrasound

An ultrasound is a useful imaging method that helps your provider see structures inside your body. Doctors use them frequently to monitor a baby during pregnancy, but they’re also helpful when examining the heart, thyroid, and kidneys. Plantation Urgent Care Center offers on-site ultrasounds to patients of all ages in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The experienced team can use ultrasounds to help find the cause of pain, swelling, or other symptoms, to check your body for internal blockages, growths, or to diagnose certain diseases. For convenient ultrasounds, use the walk-in service, or book an appointment online or by phone. 

What is an ultrasound?

An ultrasound is an imaging method that uses sound waves to generate pictures of organs, tissues, and other structures inside your body. These images help your provider diagnose and treat several diseases and conditions without the use of invasive surgery. 

Providers usually conduct an ultrasound examination using an ultrasound device outside your body, although some involve your provider placing a small device (transducer) inside your body.

When would I need an ultrasound?

Your provider may recommend an ultrasound to:

• View the uterus and ovaries during pregnancy (monitoring a baby’s health) 
• Evaluate blood flow
• Discover the cause of swelling, pain, and other symptoms
• Assess joint inflammation
• Look for internal blockages, growths, and structural problems 
• Examine a breast lump
• Check your thyroid gland
• Diagnose gallbladder disease
• Identify genital and prostate problems
• Evaluate metabolic bone disease

Ultrasounds are safe for all ages and have zero known risks. 

What happens during an ultrasound procedure?

Your provider lets you know if you need to prepare for an ultrasound. You may need to drink water so you have a full bladder or fast for several hours before your test.

​​Before your ultrasound begins, your provider may have you remove jewelry, take off or reposition some or all of your clothing, and change into a gown. 

Then, you lie on an exam table, and your provider applies a safe, water-based gel over the skin where they’re examining you. 

They press a small hand-held device (transducer) against the area they’re studying, and move it to capture images. The transducer sends sound waves into your body, which are a very high pitch, so you won’t hear or feel them.

Next, the ultrasound collects the sound waves that bounce back and sends them to a computer, which generates the images.

For ultrasounds inside your body, your provider attaches the transducer to a probe and inserts it into a natural opening in your body like the vagina or rectum. 

Ultrasounds are usually painless, but you may experience mild discomfort if the transducer enters your body. The procedure normally takes 20-60 minutes. 

After your provider studies the ultrasound, they can diagnose an issue and develop a treatment plan. They may refer you to an outside provider for specialized care. 

For convenient and comprehensive ultrasounds, use Plantation Urgent Care Center’s walk-in services, or schedule an appointment today online or by phone.