If you have experienced symptoms associated with TIA (mini strokes) or if your doctor believes your risk factors place you at significant danger of having carotid artery disease then they may ask you to have the carotid arteries investigated. Stroke type symptoms can include visual disturbances, weakness, tingling or numbness on one side of your body, problems speaking or swallowing.
The carotid artery ultrasound scan will image the common carotid, external carotid, internal carotid, subclavian and vertebral arteries. We will check both sides of your neck. We use colour and pulsed wave doppler modalites to throughouly investigate each of the arteries and determine how significant any plaque/disease may be.
Arrive 5 minutes before your appointment time to allow any paperwork to be completed. Please use the toilet in this time prior to your scan. Once you have been called into the ultrasound room you will need to lie down on the couch with your head on the pillow. You will just need to make sure your neck is clear of any clothing, large jewllery etc. Usually just removing your jacket/sweater will allow the sonographer enough room to access your neck. Once you are ready the sonographer will tuck paper towel around your collar and then begin the scan. The gel will be cold and the ultrasound probe will be pressed gently on your neck. The scan usually takes 10-30 minutes.
The sonographer will check through the images and produce a worksheet with the relevant information which is then rechecked by the vascular surgeon. If you are seeing one of our specialists on the same day as the scan then they will be able to give the result immediately. Otherwise your report will be sent back to the referrer within a day or two. You can contact the referer to arrange a time to discuss the results. If the sonographer identifies any urgent problems then they will discuss it with our vascular specialists and your referrer immediately and let you know if you need to do anything further.
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