Breast Ultrasound in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

A breast ultrasound adds something a mammogram cannot give: whether a lump is solid or filled with fluid. A small probe sends sound waves into the breast and the echoes build a live picture, as in any ultrasound scan.

Cysts, which are fluid-filled sacs, look different from solid lumps such as a fibroadenoma, a common harmless lump in younger women. The radiologist can also measure a lump, describe its shape and edges, and check the lymph nodes under the arm, which are small glands that filter fluid. Underarm swelling has its own page.

When a needle test is advised, ultrasound is also the usual way to guide the needle to the right spot. Breast FNAC and breast biopsy are explained on their own pages.

Doctors advise a breast ultrasound for a lump or a spot of pain, for dense breasts, for younger women, and to look at something seen on a mammogram.

• A lump or change you can feel: it is often the first scan for a breast lump. It can show whether the lump is a cyst or solid.
• Younger women: breast tissue is usually denser in younger women, which makes mammograms harder to read, so ultrasound is often the first scan. The doctor decides, not a fixed age.
• Dense breasts: ultrasound can be added to a mammogram when tissue is dense. See dense breast imaging.
• A finding on a mammogram: a focused scan of one spot, to see what it is.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: ultrasound uses no radiation, so it can be used when a mammogram is not advisable.
• Pain in one spot, or a tender red area: to look for a cyst or an infection. See breast pain evaluation.

Each test sees what the other can miss, so doctors often use both. A mammogram is better at tiny calcium specks and at the overall pattern of the breast. An ultrasound is better at separating a cyst from a solid lump and at showing lumps within dense tissue.

For routine screening of women with no symptoms, doctors usually rely on mammography and add ultrasound when tissue is dense or an area needs a closer look.

A breast ultrasound cannot give a final diagnosis on its own. It can show that a lump looks harmless, uncertain or suspicious, but only a sample of the tissue can confirm what it is. It is also poor at showing the tiny calcium specks that a mammogram picks up.

If the scan looks clear but you can still feel a lump, tell your doctor. What you feel and what a doctor finds on examination matter as much as the picture.