Thyroid Ultrasound

Thyroid ultrasounds are commonly used to detect and diagnose thyroid nodules, or to determine the cause of an improperly functioning thyroid.

The sonographer will request that you lay on the exam bed on your back. Your head will be tilted back on a pillow to elongate the neck. Warm, water-based ultrasound gel will be applied on the skin and/or the transducer. The sonographer will move the transducer on the skin as necessary to obtain images for the physician to interpret.

There is no preparation for this exam.

The benefits of Thyroid Ultrasound:

• Ultrasound images can be shown in real-time
• Ultrasound scanning gives a clear picture of soft tissues that do not show up well on x-ray images
• No ionizing radiation is used for this procedure

Risks you should be aware of:

• There are no known risks for ultrasound