One of the most affordable methods for examining the breast is ultrasound. With it, you can diagnose the causes of various deviations, evaluate pathological changes or just make sure that everything is in order.
Purpose of the study
Ultrasound of the mammary glands allows you to see the structure of tissues, check if any cysts, tumors inside the chest have appeared. Any mammologist can tell what this study shows and how often it needs to be done.
Under the control of this procedure, you can take a puncture from the identified dubious formations in the chest. In addition, this study allows you to clarify the diagnosis established during the mammogram. Ultrasound is an absolutely safe and painless procedure, which has no contraindications. It is recommended to do it every year for all women, regardless of whether they have complaints. After all, even starting breast cancer on ultrasound can be seen.
Indications
For preventive purposes, this examination is recommended to everyone. But there are a number of situations in which it is better not to hesitate to visit the hospital. So,
ultrasound is necessary when:
- changes in the size of the breast and its shape;
- the appearance of discharge from the nipples, their coarsening and soreness;
- discomfort in the chest, not associated with the menstrual cycle;
- inflammation and trauma;
- change in skin on the chest;
- an increase in lymph nodes;
- pregnancy planning, breastfeeding;
- installation of silicone implants to control their location and condition;
- diagnosis of neoplasms, cysts and other seals.
Also, in the treatment of changes in the chest, regular ultrasound monitoring is necessary .
Features of the procedure
Special training does not require ultrasound of the mammary glands. What this procedure shows is best understood in the first half of the cycle, after the end of menstruation. After all, it is precisely the period between the 5th and 12th days that is preferable for conducting this type of examination. On other days, an active growth of mammary secretory cells is possible, therefore, the results may turn out to be unreliable.
Ultrasound is considered one of the most accurate methods, but it is important that the conditions for this procedure are observed. Using an ultrasound machine, you can study the morphological structure of breast tissue. Its accessible location allows you to notice even minor changes.
This examination can be carried out without restrictions for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Possible results
Before going to the study, many want to know what can be detected by ultrasound of the mammary glands. Deciphering the results allows you to establish the following diagnoses:
- mastitis (inflammatory process in the mammary gland);
- mastopathy (its shape is also determined: cystic, cystic-fibrous, fibrous, diffuse, diffuse-nodular, nodular) ;
- benign changes that appear during menopause;
- cystic formations;
- malignant tumors;
- abscesses (inflammatory foci in the tissues).
Specialists involved in conducting an ultrasound examination know how normal the tissues should look and how they change with various pathologies.
Diagnosis: cyst, cancer, mastopathy
Normally, a healthy breast consists of adipose, glandular tissue and milk ducts. It is their condition that is assessed by ultrasound of the mammary glands. Cysts, for example, look like
anechogenic masses. But also abscesses (inflammatory foci in which pus has accumulated), and galactocele (cavities filled with milk in nursing women), and malignant neoplasms are also visualized.
The period of the study is also important. For example, during lactation and pregnancy, the glandular structure will prevail in the chest. But during the onset of menopause, it will be replaced by connective tissue and fat.
Of course, only a doctor can evaluate the results of an ultrasound of the mammary glands. So, for example, the skin looks like an echogenic uniform strip. The term "echogenicity" is called what is visible to ultrasound. Fat lobules are low echogenic, and areas with high density (bones and areas responsible for milk production) are hyperechoic.
Cancer, for example, may look like a formation with reduced echogenicity, an irregular shape and fuzzy contours. The structure of malignant tumors is usually heterogeneous. But fibroadenoma, on the contrary, will have clear contours, the correct shape, uniform structure.
Diffuse cystic mastopathy is described as benign changes in the ductal system. Fibrocystic changes are characterized by the degeneration of connective tissue elements. A change in the glands with visible edema indicates mastitis.
Survey
As a rule, an ultrasound of the mammary glands takes about 20 minutes. This time is enough to examine the breast from all sides. But to independently evaluate the results of the examination will not work. To do this, it is not enough to know how an ultrasound of the mammary glands is performed. What the study shows and how to interpret the results, only an experienced specialist can figure it out.
To carry out the procedure, a woman should undress to the waist and lie on the couch. Hands at the same time winding over the head. A special gel is applied to the chest, which facilitates gliding and provides the best connection of the sensor to the patient's skin.
The doctor leads the sensor along the examined area so that the ultrasonic waves penetrate the tissues at different angles. Dopplerography can also be done if necessary. This is a special study in which blood flow is assessed.
Many do not want to go for an examination, because they do not know how much an ultrasound of the breast costs. The price of this procedure does not differ from other similar surveys. It will depend on the clinic in which you do it. For example, in Moscow in a private clinic will have to pay about 2.5 thousand rubles.
Mammologist consultation and interpretation of results
When conducting ultrasound of the mammary glands, they look not only at anechogenic structures. Normally, there should be no areas in the breast tissue that differ in density. They also evaluate how well the tissues differentiate from each other. Look at their thickness. For example, glandular tissue normally should not be more than 14 mm, but in women older than 40, an increase of up to 20 mm is permissible. The milky ducts should be well visualized on the monitor of the device during ultrasound of the mammary glands.
What this study shows is a mammologist should tell each patient. During the ultrasound, they can take pictures, which the radiologist must decrypt. This is a rather complicated matter that requires knowledge and experience.
The final diagnosis is made after the conclusion of a specialist, assessment of patient complaints and other types of examinations. In some situations, conventional ultrasound is not enough, it is also necessary to puncture the identified formations.
Mammography or ultrasound
Many patients want to find out which examination is more reliable. They try to figure out on their own what is better - an ultrasound or mammography of the breast. But such a statement of the question is not entirely correct. After all, these are not interchangeable, but rather complementary surveys.
A mammogram allows you to determine the condition of the tissues of the mammary glands, but you cannot track the change in the formations on it, if they are close to the chest wall. Ultrasound also allows you to track the dynamics. With the help of this study, you can check the lymph nodes. But a mammogram is indispensable if it is necessary to check intraductal formations. Therefore, it is not worth choosing between these examination methods. If necessary, you need to do a comprehensive diagnosis, and not choose which is better - an ultrasound or mammography of the breast.