Abdominal Ultrasound

An abdominal ultrasound is a painless, noninvasive imaging test that employs high frequency sound waves to produce images of the abdominal organs and blood vessels. Your doctor may request that you have an abdominal ultrasound to help determine the reasons behind unexplained abdominal pain, recurrent kidney infections, abnormal liver function or kidney tests, or inflammation of an organ such as the liver, gallbladder, spleen or pancreas. Abdominal ultrasound may also be used to detect and monitor tumors or to diagnose and/or treat a condition called ascites, which is a fluid build-up in the abdomen. Other conditions that this test can help to detect include gallstones, kidney stones, appendicitis, or an abdominal aortic aneurysm. This test does not expose you to ionizing radiation, so there is no risk involved in undergoing abdominal ultrasound.