What can I expect during a pelvic or transvaginal ultrasound exam?
The patient lies on a table with the abdominal area exposed and with a full bladder. The sonographer will put a clear warm gel on the skin surface. The gel helps to transmit the sound waves by excluding air and will not harm your skin or your clothes. An instrument call a transducer is gently moved over the skin surface by the sonographer. Pelvic ultrasound may include a transvaginal ultrasound to better see the ovaries and uterus. In this exam the patient is asked to empty the bladder. The patient will then be asked to place a covered transvaginal transducer (approximately the size and shape of a tampon) into the vagina, or if the patient would prefer, this will be placed by the female sonographer. The sonographer will then gently manipulate the transducer to provide an internal ultrasound exam. This is not painful and is the best way to evaluate the ovaries and uterus.
