Category Archives: Procedures

Breast exam

Procedures, Womens health, ,

Breast exams allow you  a greater awareness of the condition of your breasts. It may help identify potential breast problems. Breast exam is a self  inspection of your beasts. During a breast exam, you use your eyes and hands to observe the appearance and feel of your breasts.

Breast exams, once thought essential for early breast cancer detection, are now considered optional. While other breast cancer screening tests have been proved to save lives, there’s no evidence that breast exams can do this. What’s now stressed is breast awareness — being familiar with the normal consistency of your breasts and the underlying tissue, as well as inspecting your breasts for new changes.

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Appendicitis

Diseases, Procedures, Uncategorized,

The appendix is a narrow, finger-shaped pouch that projects out from the colon. Appendicitis occurs when the appendix becomes inflamed and filled with pus.  This small structure has no known essential purpose, but that doesn’t mean it can’t cause problems.

Appendicitis causes pain that typically begins around your navel and then shifts to your lower right abdomen. Appendicitis pain typically increases over a period of 12 to 18 hours and eventually becomes very severe.  Appendicitis can affect anyone, but it most often occurs in people between the ages of 10 and 30. The standard appendicitis treatment is surgical removal of the appendix.

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Nuclear Scan

Procedures

Nuclear Scans also called Radioisotope scans or Radionuclide scans help doctors diagnose many conditions, including cancers, injuries and infections. They can also show how organs like your heart and lungs are working.
This is a test in which a small amount of radioactivity is used to obtain pictures of your body with a gamma camera.
A small amount of radioactive tracer is injected into a vein, usually in your arm. Although tracers are radioactive, the dosage is small. The injection is no more painful than a blood test.
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Echocardiogram

Procedures

An echocardiogram provides detailed information about how well the heart is working and possible causes of chest pain, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and swellin. An echocardiogram (also called an echo)  uses sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer to produce images of your heart.  The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off the different parts of your heart. These echoes are turned into moving pictures of your heart that can be seen on a video screen. This common test allows your doctor to see how your heart is beating and pumping blood. Your doctor can use the images from an echocardiogram to identify various abnormalities in the heart muscle and valves. Echo can be used as part of a stress test and with an electrocardiogram (EKG) to help your doctor learn more about your heart.

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MRI

Procedures, , ,

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create clear and detailed cross-sectional images of your head and body. You don’t need to prepare for an MRI. Unless otherwise instructed, eat normally (before the procedure) and if you take medications, continue to do so. Once checked in, you’ll likely change into a gown and robe. Remove all accessories, such as your watch, jewelry and hairpins. Also remove things like wigs, dentures and hearing aids. Tell your  MRI technologist if you have metal or electronic devices in your body, because their presence may be a safety hazard.

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