If your screening mammogram suggests that you need further testing or you are found to have a 乳房 problem by you or your provider, we have a full range of diagnostic tests to help find you an answer as soon as possible.
We will perform a thorough 乳房 evaluation, which may include:
- Additional imaging with 乳房x光检查 and/or 乳房 超声波. 乳房超声检查 exams are performed either by radiologist physicians or registered sonographers who specialize in 乳房 超声波.
- Same-day minimally invasive biopsy—a sampling procedure performed through a skin nick to diagnose the problem as needed. This happens in fewer than 10 percent of women who present with a 乳房 problem. Breast biopsy and localization procedures are offered using stereotactic, 超声波, 或核磁共振 guidance and are performed by physicians dedicated to 乳房 imaging and procedures.
- Other interventional procedures. This may include image-guided lymph node biopsies (sentinel lymphadenectomy) or lymphoscintigraphy, a nuclear-medicine exam that is used to locate sentinel lymph nodes.
- A discussion about which type of screening or diagnostic test is best for you
More information about diagnostic imaging
To provide you with helpful health information related to our diagnostic imaging tests, please refer to the following articles on our 健康wise® 健康 Encyclopedia website:
- 乳房超声检查 uses sound waves to produce high-resolution images of internal structures. 乳房超声检查 helps the 乳房 radiologist diagnose a lump or abnormality seen on a mammogram. It is used for non-invasive image guidance in procedures like cyst aspirations or 乳房 needle biopsies.
- Breast MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is the most sensitive 乳房 imaging test. It is used in screening exams for women who have a genetic predisposition or strong family history of 乳房 cancer, for characterizing a newly diagnosed 乳房 cancer, for follow-up monitoring after chemotherapy or surgery, and to evaluate the status of a 乳房 implant. The MRI uses radio waves in a magnetic field to generate images. An MRI exam is a radiation-free and painless procedure that lasts between 30 and 90 minutes.
- Minimally invasive biopsy is often performed when an abnormality has been found by clinical examination, 乳房x光检查, 超声波, 或核磁共振. Unlike the surgical biopsies of the past, modern minimally invasive 乳房 biopsies are typically performed using imaging technology to accurately guide a probe through a small skin nick to the abnormality for sampling. The procedures are safe, effective and do not scar or deform the 乳房. Biopsies by 3-D 乳房x光检查 are provided at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. This is a more advanced, quicker and more comfortable version of stereotactic core biopsy.