Ultrasound of the bladder

The ultrasound examination of the bladder is performed in order to establish the state of the organ in question and to detect the pathology in it. This procedure takes no more than a quarter of an hour, it is absolutely harmless, but it gives an opportunity to assess the state of the bladder.

Ultrasound is a process of scanning the bladder with acoustic waves that propagate when ultrasound is emitted.

Indications for ultrasound of the bladder

This type of research is used when:

• various diseases of the urinary tract (prolapse of pelvic organs, cystitis, urinary incontinence );
• injuries and injuries;
• pregnancy according to indications;
• tumors and cysts of the bladder;
• hematuria;
• urolithiasis;
• abnormalities of the bladder;
• varicose veins of the bladder.

There are no special contraindications for ultrasound of the bladder, but, nevertheless, it is not carried out with catheter, sutures or open wounds, since it can give unreliable results.

How is ultrasound of the bladder?

Ultrasound examination of this organ can be carried out transvaginal, transabdominal, ransrektalnym and transurethral way.

1. Most often the ultrasound of the bladder becomes transabdominal, that is, through the abdominal wall.
2. Transrectal examination is usually done with a survey of men.
3. Ultrasound of the bladder in women can be performed transvaginally, that is, through the vagina.
4. Transurethral examination consists in the introduction of a sensor into the urethral cavity.

Transrectal, transvaginal and transurethral ultrasound are used when it is necessary to detail the picture of bladder pathology obtained by conventional abdominal ultrasound.

In order to ensure that these studies are the most reliable, the patient's bladder should be filled during the procedure, for which half an hour before it is necessary to drink about one and a half liters of water. The procedure of examination of the bladder with ultrasound takes no more than 15 minutes. Thus the patient occupies a position lying on a back.

A special gel is applied to the patient's stomach and the bladder is scanned with a sensor.

In men, bladder ultrasound also examines the prostate gland in order to establish the presence or absence of prostatitis, the process of inflammation of the seminal vesicles, prostate cancer, prostatic hyperplasia.

If an ultrasound is performed in a woman, then, in addition to examining the bladder, attention is also paid to the ovaries, uterus to detect pathological changes in them.

Results of ultrasound of the bladder

According to the results of the study, the doctor makes a conclusion about the condition of this organ on the basis of data on the volume of residual urine in the bladder, its capacity, the thickness of its walls, the contours of this organ and the tissues that surround it, additional formations, the blocking function of the bladder.

Normally, the ultrasound picture of the bladder looks like an echographically unchanged organ with clear and even contours, Wall thickness of not more than 2 mm and echo-negative content.

Deciphering the results of ultrasound can show that:

• there are stones in the bladder - in conclusion, their number, size, shape and location are indicated;
• there is inflammation of this organ, for example, cystitis - this is indicated by a thickening of the walls of the bladder;
• in the bladder there is a tumor (benign or malignant) - this is indicated by the presence of a neoplasm that protrudes outward or protrudes into the lumen of the bladder.