Frequently asked questions
Ultrasound FAQs
The questions people ask most about Ultrasound, at La Rose and across our Knowledge Centre articles.
Questions about this service at La Rose
Yes, if you have a request from your own doctor. We perform the scan, and your own doctor continues your care based on it. If you have no doctor following you and you want an opinion on the symptoms themselves, a consultation suits you better: it includes the scan and reads it against your history and your labs.
Yes: six to eight hours beforehand, and water is fine. It also helps to avoid fizzy drinks and bloating foods the day before, because gas gets in the way of the image.
We explain the finding to you directly. If it needs an assessment or a next step, you can book an internal-medicine consultation here or continue with your own doctor; the choice is yours.
Ultrasound can show an appearance consistent with fat accumulation, but it cannot accurately measure inflammation or fibrosis by itself. The result is read with the history, examination and liver, glucose and lipid tests before deciding whether follow-up or another assessment is needed.
Not automatically. The change may be fat, fluid, medicine-related or hormonal, so symptoms and examination determine whether ultrasound would help and which area to assess. Clear swelling, breathlessness or chest pain needs prompt evaluation.
Routine abdominal ultrasound is not a comprehensive, precise measure of all visceral fat. It may show fatty liver or a particular problem, while abdominal-fat risk also uses waist size, blood pressure, glucose and blood lipids. Further imaging is selected only when it would change care.
Questions answered in our articles
Select a question to open its answer in the article, with its sources and full context.
What Does Abdominal Ultrasound for Children Show? Uses and Preparation
- Does an abdominal ultrasound for children require mandatory fasting for all ages?
- What is the difference between a routine abdominal ultrasound and a pelvic ultrasound in children?
- Is ultrasound safe for infants and newborns, and does it involve any radiation?
- If a child cries or moves during the ultrasound, does it spoil the scan or cause wrong results?
- The ultrasound was normal but my child still complains of stomach pain; what is the next step?
- Can ultrasound diagnose appendicitis in children with sufficient accuracy?
Can abdominal ultrasound detect colon cancer? Limitations and next steps
- Can an abdominal ultrasound evaluate the colon and common bowel issues?
- If an abdominal ultrasound is normal, does it rule out colon cancer?
- At what stage can an ultrasound detect colon tumours?
- When do we need a colonoscopy rather than an ultrasound?
- Does every abdominal pain or bloating symptom mean I need a colonoscopy?
- What stool test is approved for colorectal cancer screening?
Incidental kidney cyst on ultrasound: what does it mean?
- Is a simple kidney cyst dangerous, or can it turn into cancer?
- What size of kidney cyst is dangerous?
- Does a simple kidney cyst need an ultrasound every year?
- Can a kidney cyst cause flank pain or blood in the urine?
- What is the difference between a simple kidney cyst and inherited PKD?
- Can extra water or a particular food dissolve a kidney cyst?
Prostate and urinary tract ultrasound preparation: fluids and report scope
- Is drinking water and having a full bladder necessary for transabdominal prostate ultrasound?
- How much water should I drink before pelvic and prostate ultrasound, and when should I start?
- Does a combined abdomen, pelvis, and prostate ultrasound require fasting from food?
- Why does the doctor ask me to empty my bladder and return to complete the ultrasound?
- Can transabdominal prostate ultrasound detect or rule out prostate cancer?
- Are prostate calcifications seen on ultrasound a dangerous finding?
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