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Breast ultrasound - Results

Alternative Names

Ultrasonography of the breast; Sonogram of the breast

Normal Values:

Normally, the breast tissue will look the same and will not have any suspicious growths.

What abnormal results mean:

Ultrasound can help show noncancerous growths such as:

Cysts -- fluid-filled sacs
Fibroadenomas -- noncancerous solid growths
Lipomas -- noncancerous fatty lumps that can occur anywhere in the body, including the breasts

Breast cancers can also be seen with ultrasound.

Female Breast

Reviewed last on: 1/24/2011
Debra G. Wechter, MD, FACS, General Surgery practice specializing in breast cancer, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kim CH, Bassett LW. Imaging-guided core needle biopsy of the breast. In: Bassett LW, Jackson VP, Fu KL, Fu YS, eds. Diagnosis of Diseases of the Breast. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2005:chap 17.

Abeloff MD, Wolff AC, Weber BL, et al. Cancer of the breast. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WB, eds. Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 95.

Whitman GJ. Ultrasound-guided breast biopsies. Ultrasound Clin. 2006;1:603-615.

Fibrocystic breast disease

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