Breast Ultrasound. Breast Scan.

Scan of Both Breasts For Comparison. £150.00

All appointments can be arranged without a referral from your doctor. A referral is sometimes adviseable but not always necessary.

Uses of Ultrasound in Breast Screening

Determining the Nature of a Breast Abnormality

The primary use of breast ultrasound today is to help diagnose breast abnormalities detected during a physical exam (such as a lump or bloody or spontaneous clear nipple discharge) and to characterize potential abnormalities seen by mammography.
Ultrasound imaging can help to determine if an abnormality is solid or fluid-filled (such as a benign cyst) or both cystic and solid. Doppler ultrasound is used to assess blood supply in breast lesions.

Supplimental Breast Cancer Screening

Mammography is the only screening tool for breast cancer that is known to reduce deaths due to breast cancer through early detection. Even so, mammograms do not detect all breast cancers. Some breast lesions and abnormalities are not visible or are difficult to interpret on mammograms. In breasts that are dense, meaning there is a lot of glandular tissue and less fat, many cancers can be hard to see on mammography.

Many studies have shown that ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help supplement mammography by detecting small breast cancers that may not be visible with mammography. MRI is more sensitive than ultrasound but not all women can tolerate breast MRI. Screening ultrasound can be an alternative to MRI for women who cannot tolerate MRI. If screening MRI is performed, then screening ultrasound is not needed, though ultrasound may be used to characterize and biopsy abnormalities seen on MRI. When ultrasound is used for screening, many abnormalities are seen which may require biopsy but are not cancer (false positives).

Ultrasound is useful as a screening tool for women who:

• are at high risk for breast cancer and unable to tolerate an MRI examination.
• are at intermediate risk for breast cancer based on family history, personal history of breast cancer, or prior biopsy showing an abnormal result.
• have dense breasts.
• have silicone breast implants and very little tissue can be included on the mammogram.
• are pregnant or should not to be exposed to x-rays (which is necessary for a mammogram).
• An Ultrasound scan includes an examination of both breasts for comparison to determine the nature of a palpable lump and to exclude any obvious abnormalities.

Please note that a mammogram is the recommended examination for breast screening and referral to a breast clinic for a mammogram will usually be suggested in most instances regardless of our findings.

Half hour appointment: £150