Uterus sonogram without consent: I need advice

[amanda99266.livejournal.com]

Hi, 

when I took a sonogram for digestive problems, I ended up getting my womb checked, I felt it was wrong but also confused and embarrased so I didn"t say anything.

What do you think?

Last year I took a sonogram for digestive problems (liver and gall bladder), a woman performed it on my upper abdomen, told me she was also looking at  my kidneys, I was fine with that, exam done.

This year I took the same exam with a different person: an older man, very efficient, the exam was done in a couple of minutes, he was moving the transducer around and taking pictures really fast. 

I told him I had gall bladder problems, he did the area, then my kidneys,  and lastly he said "problems with reproductive organs?..." and before I could answer, slid the "mouse" from my stomach to my uterus  and looked for a couple of seconds.

It happened so fast, I didn't say anything because I was asking myself  " is this normal?  should I be okay with that?" but I was really uncomfortable and I keep thinking about it.

My first question: is it normal practice when getting a sonogram to have more organs checked than what is prescribed?

My second question: how would you tell the person  that this is not okay with you and ask them to stop?

Comments

[nightengalesknd.livejournal.com]

When I've ordered abdominal ultrasounds on kids and teens, the order form has given me a choice between "right upper quadrant" which covers the liver and gallbladder, "renal/bladder" which is kidneys and bladder and "complete abdominal" which covers the liver, gallbladder, kidneys, bladder, ovaries, uterus and pretty much everything else in there. I've made the choice based on what I was looking for - just liver problems versus abdominal pain that could come from multiple places.

So it's possible that the first doctor ordered specifically a right upper quadrant ultrasound, while the second one ordered a complete abdominal ultrasound, in which case each tech was doing as ordered. In that case, it would depend on the order which is something to discuss with the doctor.

It's also possible that the tech was looking at more things than the order stated, in which case it is something to discuss with the tech or his supervisor. I agree that a tech should not image organs outside of what the order states, for privacy, consent and billing reasons. However, without knowing what the specific order stated, it's impossible to know if that's what happened. Regardless, you do have the right to say "no" and "stop" at any time you are uncomfortable. It's your body.

[paraxeni.livejournal.com]

This. I've had region-specific abdominal scans, and more general ones, depending on my symptoms.