It is done by having a person called a “tech” or a doctor use a small device and press it against an area of the body that we are examining to take pictures of it. The images are better seen with an application of a gel on the skin prior to the placement of the small probe.
In Urology, ultrasound allows us to see the kidney, penis, bladder, testicles, penis and the prostate gland.
Penile Doppler Ultrasound
An ultrasound of the penis is a common test we do in the office to evaluate erections. Please click here to learn more about a penile doppler ultrasound.
Advantages
- This is a “real-time” test meaning that we can see with the ultrasound what is actively happening; for instance in pregnancy, we use ultrasound to see the baby moving.
- Patients are not exposed to any radiation
- It is a good test at evaluating kidney cysts, tumors, seeing kidney blockage or kidney stones.
- We have multiple types of ultrasound technology in the office to perform evaluations of our patients.
Disadvantages
- Stones that are seen on ultrasound may not always be accurately measured like you may on a CT scan.
- Sometimes the picture may look a little fuzzy depending on the type of machine used and depending on how deep the organ we are looking at is.
