Reply To: Variation between scans

[Stephen Bird]

This is not a problem isolated to breast ultrasound. There is occasionally a disconnect between a previous scan / report and the findings I make on the current scan.
It may be that a liver lesion is reported as being in a particular segment and I disagree or a carotid ultrasound grades a stenosis at a higher level than I find on my scan etc.
So certainly I am going to find breast lesions in slightly different locations to the prior scan.
In all of these examples I trust MYSELF and report the findings as I find them.
In breast work it may be the position of the patient (how rolled the patient was), also weight gain or loss may make a difference.
I am very careful to ensure that the lesion looks morphologically like the same lesion and that the surrounding tissue looks similar.
If I can satisfy all of this I report the lesion at whatever o’clock I finds it in and make note on my worksheet that last time it was reported in a slightly different position.
I take the same approach to other ultrasound inconsistencies.