Prostate Ultrasound

I had a physical last week and my doctor called with the results of the blood test. She everything was fine but there was a slight increase in my PSA (2.2). Normally she wouldn't be concerned but since there is a history of prostate cancer in my family she suggested I see a urologist.

She said he may do a ultrasound of my prostate. Has anyone had this done? If so, what can I expect to happen.

I googled the topic and read the explanations but I would rather hear someones account of what happened.

Thanks is advance.

Going to see a urologist for more tests is absolutely the right thing to do. With PSAs, the number itself is not nearly as important as the change from your last test. It is quite possible to have cancer even with a PSA in the "normal" range (< 4.0).

An ultrasound of the prostate is probably going to be a transrectal one - they insert the probe in you to get the images. A prostate biopsy is also done this way, so you probably want to understand which you are doing. Regardless of which, you're doing the right things. Hopefully you don't have prostate cancer, but when caught early it is one of the most easily cured in men (second only to early skin cancer). Good luck.

What are the symptoms of a problem with your prostate?

I had a transrectal ultrasound for my prostate a couple years back. It was a pretty straightforward procedure whereby an imaging wand is inserted into the rectum and moved around while the technician captures various images to be submitted to the urologist for assessment. As I recall this took about 15 minutes or so to complete. It was not unpleasant at all and the female tech that did mine was quite friendly and gentle. I was happy when the urologist deemed the results good. Always better to be checked.

Any diagnostic procedure, no matter how uncomfortable, is far better than ignoring symptoms and falling victim to the Big C.

The urologist did another PSA test and it dropped to 1.4. Seems certain activities:sex, riding in a golf cart or tractor, bike riding, will spike your PSA.

Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, involves exposing part of the body to high-frequency sound waves to produce pictures of the inside of the body. Ultrasound exams do not use ionizing radiation (as used in x-rays). Because ultrasound images are captured in real-time, they can show the structure and movement of the body's internal organs, as well as blood flowing through blood vessels.

Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

The prostate ultrasound provides pictures of a man's prostate gland. The exam typically requires insertion of an ultrasound probe into the rectum of the patient. The probe sends and receives sound waves through the wall of the rectum into the prostate gland which is situated right in front of the rectum A transrectal ultrasound of the prostate gland is performed to:

detect disorders within the prostate.

termine whether the prostate is enlarged, with measurements acquired as needed for any treatment planning.

detect an abnormal growth within the prostate.

help diagnose the cause of a man’s infertility.

A transrectal ultrasound of the prostate gland is typically used to help diagnose symptoms such as:

a nodule is felt by a physician during a routine physical exam or prostate cancer screening exam.

an elevated blood test result.

difficulty urinating.

Because ultrasound provides real-time images, it also can be used to guide procedures such as needle biopsies, in which a needle is used to sample cells (tissue) from an abnormal area in the prostate gland for later laboratory testing.

Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships and fishermen. When a sound wave strikes an object, it bounces back, or echoes. By measuring these echo waves it is possible to determine how far away the object is and its size, shape, and consistency (whether the object is solid, filled with fluid, or both).

In medicine, ultrasound is used to detect changes in appearance of organs, tissues, and vessels or detect abnormal masses, such as tumors.

In an ultrasound examination, a transducer both sends the sound waves and records the echoing waves. When the transducer is pressed against the skin, it directs small pulses of inaudible, high-frequency sound waves into the body. As the sound waves bounce off of internal organs, fluids and tissues, the sensitive microphone in the transducer records tiny changes in the sound's pitch and direction. These signature waves are instantly measured and displayed by a computer, which in turn creates a real-time picture on the monitor. One or more frames of the moving pictures are typically captured as still images.

The same principles apply to ultrasound procedures such as transrectal and transvaginal which require insertion of a special transducer into the body.

In men, the prostate gland is located directly in front of the rectum, so the ultrasound exam is performed transrectally.

For a transrectal ultrasound, a disposable protective cover is placed over the transducer, it is lubricated and then placed into the rectum.

The images are obtained from different angles to get the best view of the prostate gland. Ultrasound of the prostate is most often performed with the patient lying on his left side with his knees bent up slightly.

If a suspicious lesion is identified with ultrasound or with a rectal examination, an ultrasound-guided biopsy can be performed. This procedure involves advancing a needle into the prostate gland while the radiologist watches the needle placement with ultrasound. A small amount of tissue is taken for microscopic examination. Shown is an example of a transrectal transducer (probe).

When the examination is complete, the patient may be asked to dress and wait while the ultrasound images are reviewed. However, the sonographer or radiologist is often able to review the ultrasound images in real-time as they are acquired and the patient can be released immediately.

This ultrasound examination is usually completed in less than 20 minutes.

There was a video of one of these i had come across quite some time ago. How common are they? Are they strictly for problems?

Transrectal ultrasounds are more common that one would think! It is the best modality to view tissues and inflammation of the prostate gland to determine the cause of BPH or even cancer. A transrectal US can also extract a small tissue sample directly from the prostate gland to view histological changes.

Persistent problems with the prostate gland will lead to this type of test

Hi, and do you still have that video? I'd like to see how this is done.

I know it's an old thread, but I did some light googling and I only found this picture from a urology seminar

http://www.2rui.com/html/slide30b.jpg this link give an error 404 # 2012-05-06

I also would be interested in such a video.

Never heard of it.. but sounds like fun!

I have had a couple of ultra sounds on my prostate for BPH. The ultrasound probe is a long and narrow and covered with a condom. You lay on your side and it is inserted into your rectum. It is well lubricated and not painful. An ultrasound may be useful in detecting small tumors that can't be felt on a DRE. If a needle biopsy is done, the ultrasound can be used to guide the needle. As a first step the urologist will probably want to repeat the PSA. PSA tests have a fairly large variability and urologists are less likely to jump into doing a biopsy than 10 years ago.

When there is any suspicion of cancer, a PSA Free Percentage blood test is the best indicator of a problem, not just a PSA test. If your % free is above a certain level, you do not have prostate cancer. In 2008 my numbers indicated that I did have prostate cancer. It was validated by a 10 needle biopsy and Radiation and chemo were scheduled when I found a website with a holistic cure using habanero peppers, garlic and fish oil taken daily. After 2 weeks my oncologist assigned to my case was amazed as the tumor was shrinking and by 3 months the peach sized prostate had shrunk to normal size and was no longer cancerous. I remained in remission until July of 2016 when my numbers again were indicating relapse. Validated by further tests, I got on the habanero but after a week of feeling no better I found out about RSO aka Rick Simpson Oil, a derivative of medical marijuana and I began with a drop the size of a grain of rice and gradually built up to a gram per day, taken at bedtime (sometimes orally and sometimes in a 00 capsule inserted in my rectum. I did not get prescriptions for the RSO through my HMO but I did get kind, understanding care from them all along the way back to remission which took about 3 months of daily RSO. Again, I went into remission and my PSA dropped to the lowest point last month since my original diagnosis in 2008 when it was over 7 with a Gleason of 7.

I now take a pinhead of RSO daily for maintenance or vape it which takes about 3 minutes. With Opdivo (TV ads for a drug that costs $150,000 for a series and doesn't even kill the cancer) coming out of big Pharma, don't expect to see anything from Searle, Bayer or any of the other drug whores. But there are thousands of pages of real stories like mine on the internet.

I am blessed and very fortunate that my physicians at Scripps Clinic and Kaiser Foundation listened to me and what I wanted to do and supported me all along the way. Obviously they could not recommend medical marijuana and they are not scientists to test it or do trials etc. but watch what happens with cancer in the next few years as more states legalize it's use for health. The constantly advised me to at least have it irradiated and to consider chemo if I did not want the surgery. I appreciate that and that is there responsibility to tell me. Perhaps the fact that I have been receiving enemas and prostate massage for many years made me a candidate for alternative methods but I just turned to nature and God to heal me.

My last ultrasound was performed by a lovely technician who was very professional as well as comforting and she did a magnificent job with the ultrasound and everything came out clear and good. The only negative was back in 2008. The surgeon that was supposed to do the radical prostatectomy had it scheduled for the following Friday and invited us to lunch the monday before. We arrived with the news that i was putting off the surgery until trying the habanero protocol. He excused himself to take a call and left us in his office for about 20 minutes. His secretary came in at that time and said. "Dr. ######## was called away on an emergency and won't be able to make lunch" I guess the $55,000 fee that went down the drain over habaneros changed his plans for purchasing that 2008 Mercedes he had been looking at.

Go for the ultrasound, it is a smart thing to do. It is painless and might even be a turn on depending on personnel.