Ultrasound is familiar to almost every person. We are faced with ultrasound during life, for example during a routine examination of the body. The study of soft tissues is an important component that is widely used in modern medical practice. The depth of propagation of ultrasonic waves in this case is small (does not exceed 10 centimeters), but the result gives a fairly clear picture. This allows you to identify pathologies in many organs.
Characteristics of the procedure
Ultrasound of soft tissues in medical practice has other names - ultrasound or sonography. This procedure is very popular among doctors, as it is an informative and safe examination.
It can be used both at the stage of primary diagnosis, and as a procedure specifying the diagnosis. The most popular ultrasound of soft tissues is in surgery, as well as in the diagnosis of various pathologies.
Soft tissues include:
- Skin covering.
- Subcutaneous fat.
- The muscles.
- Connective tissue structures.
- The lymph nodes.
Such a study is permissible to study the condition of the joints. To date, the price of ultrasound of soft tissues varies. It depends on the region, the status of the medical institution that provides services, the nature of the examination. A lot in modern medicine depends on the rating of the clinic. When studying the market for these services, you can find prices from 1000 rubles to 12000 rubles. When choosing the appropriate option, where to do an ultrasound of soft tissues, you need to be based on the experience of specialists who conduct the examination.
Ultrasound is often prescribed as an addition to x-rays. This approach is explained by the fact that x-rays show damage to the bones, and ultrasound also shows injuries of muscles and tendons, which allows you to choose a comprehensive treatment.
Indications for ultrasound
As already mentioned above, the procedure is used to clarify the diagnosis and primary diagnosis, allows you to detect both congenital and acquired pathologies.
The main indications for ultrasound of soft tissues:
- Postoperative control.
- The presence of a hernia (the procedure allows you to track the change in its size).
- Lipoma, atheroma and other skin neoplasms.
- Maturation of abscess or abscess.
- Skeletal muscle inflammation.
- Lymphostasis
- Rheumatoid and other joint diseases.
- Injuries leading to the formation of hematomas, tumors.
To obtain accurate, informative results, it is important to clearly indicate which zone needs to be examined. Such an approach will allow the sonologist (ultrasound specialist) to save time for the procedure.
Preparation for ultrasound of soft tissues
The procedure under consideration is convenient in that it does not require any special preparation. Unlike other examinations, a person does not need to follow a diet or take specific medications.
It is recommended to take care of clothing if you have to remove it in the doctor’s office. However, this advice is indirectly related to medicine.
If an X-ray examination was performed the day before, then it is better to transfer the ultrasound to make a break between examinations.
Procedure
The area that should be examined during an ultrasound of soft tissues should be freed from clothing in the doctor’s office. The patient occupies a horizontal position on the couch, the doctor drives a special sensor on the surface of the skin, he sees the results on the monitor.
It is important that the patient does not experience any pain or discomfort. The ultrasound examination procedure has practically no contraindications. What does soft tissue ultrasound show? Firstly, it allows you to determine the presence and size of tumors, their structure and location.
If ultrasound does not accurately determine the nature of the pathology (the neoplasm is too deep in the soft tissues, the patient is overweight), then specialists prescribe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Ultrasound of the limbs
For the examination of human limbs using ultrasound examination of soft tissues, there are also certain indications that the attending physician is guided by.
The main reasons for the diagnostic procedure:
- Hip hernia.
- Neoplasms of an unclear nature.
- Fuzzy fractures of brittle bones.
- Causeless pain.
- Difficulties in the work of joints.
- Monitoring the effects of injuries, bruises and even fractures.
Ultrasound of the face and neck
Ultrasound of the soft tissues of the face and neck allows you to detect and determine the exact location of the foci of inflammation in this area. The doctor will prescribe a similar procedure to determine:
- The presence of an inflammatory process.
- The presence of cystic formations, their changes.
- The condition of the vessels and arteries in the head and neck.
- The condition of the patient after plastic surgery.
Facial plastic surgery in the modern world is a fairly popular procedure. Someone is trying to change their appearance, someone is chasing eternal youth, someone needs surgery for medical reasons. Regardless of the reasons for which the plastic was performed, it requires postoperative monitoring. Ultrasound allows you to establish the location of Botox or gold threads, to exclude the development of an undesirable inflammatory process.
Quite often, ultrasound of the soft tissues of the face is carried out by young children, which makes it possible to determine the state of their lymph nodes. The study also allows you to determine the condition of the carotid arteries.
Ultrasound of the hip, especially
An ultrasound of the soft tissues of the thigh is prescribed for the following indications:
- If this part of the body is injured and additional control of the soft tissue state is necessary.
- Hip neoplasm.
- Treatment of a hernia of the hip joint is accompanied by an ultrasound scan to monitor the condition and changes in it.
- Before surgery, an ultrasound scan is necessary to establish the condition of the soft tissues. After surgery, ultrasound is a means of monitoring the patient's condition.
Ultrasound tibia
During the study, the doctor can see the condition of the muscles, soft tissues, tendons, as well as nerve endings. An indication for an ultrasound of the soft tissues of the lower leg is:
- Crick.
- Rupture of ligaments and tendons.
- The presence of neoplasms, tumors.
- Injuries to the ankle joint.
- The study of calcaneus growths.
- Examination of a cyst filled with fluid.
- Monitoring bone repair after fractures.
Ultrasound of the abdomen
A study of the peritoneum is the most common. Ultrasound of the soft tissues of the abdomen reveals a number of pathologies that often require surgical intervention. This part of the body is very vulnerable, its injuries are fraught with dangerous health consequences.
There are a number of indications for the appointment of this type of ultrasound:
- Injuries with possible damage to internal organs.
- Acute pain, the exact source of which cannot be determined without ultrasound.
- Appendicitis.
- The presence of tumor formations.
- The presence of umbilical hernia.
- Failure of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Knife wounds, stab wounds, burns in the abdomen.
Ultrasound hands
A separate ultrasound of the soft tissues of the hands is carried out in order to study the state of muscles, tendons, veins and joints.
The doctor prescribes an examination in the following cases:
- Unreasonable pain in the arm complained of by the patient.
- Examination after injury, which reveals a rupture or stretching of the tendons.
- Examination for the presence of muscle strain, which is a consequence of any injury.
Diagnoses that ultrasound helps to determine
An important aspect of ultrasound is the correct interpretation of its results, which helps the attending physician establish the correct diagnosis and prescribe the necessary course of treatment.
To understand the importance of ultrasound of soft tissues, you need to consider the main diagnoses that can be established on its basis:
- Allows you to identify in the human body cavities filled with liquid. Such formations are cysts, and in medical practice they are called Baker cysts.
- Identification of lipomas. In itself, this is a benign formation, which on the monitor will look like an area of tissue compaction. The tumor has clear boundaries.
- Ultrasound of soft tissues allows you to examine the condition of muscles and tendons, to identify places of ruptures or foci of inflammation. If the area with a seal is displayed on the monitor, this indicates an inflammatory process in this area. Ultrasound also allows you to identify the process of tissue degeneration, to determine the presence of dislocations.
- With the help of a similar examination of the lymph nodes, their deviations from the norm are revealed, the causes of which may be inflammatory or oncological diseases. In a healthy state, the lymph nodes are poorly visualized on a medical monitor. With inflammation or an increase in size, the changes will immediately catch the eye of a specialist.
- Malignant tumors also have their own outlines, which will be obvious during ultrasound. Most often, such formations are visualized as ingrown foci.
- Monitoring the soft tissue after an injury is an important step in the treatment. Ultrasound can detect the presence of hematomas, which will look like bags filled with blood.
After each such examination, the doctor fills in the established protocol, on the basis of which the diagnosis is made. Often with the help of ultrasound it is possible to detect foreign bodies in the human body (especially a child), which can have a significant impact on the further actions of a specialist.
If the results of ultrasound are not enough, the patient is prescribed an additional examination. However, medical practice confidently states that ultrasound of soft tissues in most cases provides the information necessary for further therapy.