Preparation

• You must not have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before your examination.
• You are not allowed to smoke or chew gum the morning of your test.
• If your examination is in the afternoon, you may have some dry toast and a small amount of water, black coffee or tea (no milk or cream) the morning of the test.
• You must not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum 4 hours prior to the test.
• It is a good idea to have low fat meals the day before your test.
• If you are diabetic, please inform the staff when booking your appointment. We will give you special instructions

Procedure

You will be asked to remove your clothing from the waist up and put on a gown. You may leave on all jewelry.

The sonographer will ask you to lie on your back on the examination table. He or she will put some gel on your abdomen and take many pictures. You will be asked to turn in several positions. You will be asked to take in a deep breath and hold it in at various times during the exam. This serves two purposes. It fills the lungs, thereby pushing the abdominal organs lower, below the ribcage which allows for better visualization. It also stops the organs from moving as you breathe. The sonographer will let you know what you need to do and when. The examination can take from 10 to 30 minutes. When the exam is finished you may change and go.

Your doctor will get a written report.