Lindenhurst, NY
A 45-year-old female asked:
My mammogram was negative no lumps or masses found. why would my doctor recommend an ultrasound? they did say i had dense breasts.. very nervous
3 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Carlos Encarnacionanswered
Medical Oncology 36 years experience
Just being safe: Dense breasts in younger women can be hard to read with mammos so your doc wants to evaluate them with another modality. Don't get nervous, just get the ultrasound and make sure your doc keeps you updated of what it shows. Best to you.
4.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Ryan Polsellianswered
Radiology 16 years experience
Not sure...: I'm a breast radiologist. Something doesn't make sense. In the absence of symptoms (with negative mammo and physical exam), there is no indication for a diagnostic ultrasound. What occasionally happens is something worded in the mammogram report makes the referring physician uncomfortable and additional testing is unnecessarily ordered. I would call to clarify, but i wouldn't worry if i were you.
4.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Michael Gabor commented
Diagnostic Radiology 34 years experience
Adjunct screening ultrasound in dense breasts is gaining traction in states with legislation requiring that patients are notified that they have dense breasts, and that dense breasts decrease the sensitivity of mammography. New York is one of those states. I practice in NY, and since the law went into effect we are doing a ton of them.
Jul 16, 2014
Dr. Michael Gaboranswered
Diagnostic Radiology 34 years experience
Dense breasts: are normal, but dense breasts are an independent risk factor for breast cancer, and can decrease the sensitivity of mammography for detecting cancer to lower than 50%.There are studies showing that the addition of adjunct screening ultrasound to mammography in dense breasts can almost double the sensitivity for cancer detection, and there are many around the country who are doing it,like your doc.
3.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Nov 26, 2020
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