- Health A to Z
Participants
Joan Atkin MD, Unjera Jackson MD, FACOG, Marty Moss-Coane
Summary
If you're pregnant -- and even if you're not -- you've probably heard of ultrasound. But do you really know what doctors are looking for when they use it? Join our panel for an expert discussion of this common procedure.
Webcast Transcript
MARTY MOSS-COANE: I'm
Marty Moss-Coane. If you're pregnant, and even if
you're not, chances are you've heard of ultrasound, a
diagnostic tool that produces pictures of the inside of the body using
high-frequency sound waves. But do you really know what doctors
are looking for when they perform an ultrasound? What kinds of
abnormalities might they see? And if something is wrong, what
choices will you have to make? Today on our
webcast, we'll discuss the why, the when, the how of
ultrasound. Let me introduce our guests. Dr. Unjera
Jackson is a maternal/fetal medicine specialist and Director of Obstetrics
at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey. Dr.
Jackson, welcome. Dr. Joan Atkin is a medical geneticist, and
Director of Genetics at Atlantic Health System, in New Jersey.
Dr. Atkin, welcome to you as well. Let me begin right
with you, Dr. Atkin. Help us understand a little bit more about
ultrasound and how these high-frequency sound waves
work. JOAN ATKIN, MD: That's exactly what they
are. It's like sonar, like what the bats use.
It is sound waves, and so there's no radiation, no exposure, and
nothing that can harm the growing fetus inside. But you bounce
back sound waves and produce a picture on a screen. Nowadays,
we've gotten much better resolution, so the pictures are looking
better and better, and even the parents looking at it can recognize parts
of their fetus.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: And they can
actually see it on a screen.
JOAN ATKIN, MD: They can, while
we're doing it.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: What is the
actual gizmo, I guess; that's not a very medical term,
that's used to get these pictures? Dr.
Jackson? UNJERA JACKSON, MD: The actually equipment is a
relatively large machine that has a transducer attached to it.
The transducers are of various megahertz frequencies, depending upon the
penetration that we wish to achieve in a particular case. The
waves are paced through the transducer, into the tissue and then back
again, and the picture is then cast on the screen. MARTY
MOSS-COANE: Is ultrasound used routinely in
pregnancy? UNJERA JACKSON, MD: Ultrasounds are used almost
routinely in pregnancy. It is currently, in this country, not
the standard of care that an ultrasound must be done in each and every
pregnancy, and there are a variety of reasons for that, two of which
include access to care or the technology, and another is cost.
There also are, even though very little information indicating that
there's any risk whatsoever, that concern does come up
also. However, most obstetricians are offering at least one
ultrasound to most of their patients, and aren't just using them
for indications.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: And offering them
because it gives them important information on what? About
development, size of the fetus? UNJERA JACKSON,
MD: There are a number of things that we look for, and it
includes both the things that you mentioned and a variety of
others. Depending upon when the ultrasound is done, will
determine what we can see and exactly what it is we're looking
for. First trimester ultrasounds are primarily done to determine
viability, that is, is there a fetal heart? Is this a normal
pregnancy? Number of fetuses. Some idea of where the
placenta is implanted. A look at the fluid around the
baby.
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