Pelvic Ultrasound is used to obtain images of organs, tissues and structures of the lower abdominal and pelvic areas. These ultrasound pictures can be generated by using a probe on the surface of the abdomen, by inserting a vaginal probe in women, and by using a rectal probe for men.
For women, a pelvic ultrasound is used to assess abnormal bleeding and other menstrual problems as well as infertility, pelvic pain, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and reproductive-organ cancers. For men, it can help assess the bladder, prostate gland and seminal vesicles. In both genders, bladder tumors and other urinary disorders as well as kidney stones and blood flow in the kidneys can be studied with the help of pelvic ultrasound imaging. This procedure can be used in children to assist in evaluating pelvic pain, pelvic masses, organ anomalies, ambiguous genitalia and early or late onset of puberty in girls. Pelvic ultrasound is also useful in guiding needle biopsies and similar procedures and can produce images of blood flow and other vascular information.
Limitations of Pelvic Ultrasound
Any area of the pelvis containing air or gas, including a bowel filled with air, disrupts an ultrasound beam. Therefore, the bowel and any organs and tissues that it blocks from the ultrasound transmission are better evaluated using CT scanning, MRI or barium exams. Pelvic ultrasound efficacy is also limited in the case of large patients with significant amounts of tissue through which ultrasound waves must pass.