Breast Elastography — Assessing Breast Lesion Stiffness | Epoch St Ives
Expert specialist breast elastography at Epoch Medical Imaging, St Ives Shopping Village. Advanced lesion characterisation alongside standard breast ultrasound. Serving the North Shore.
How Does Breast Elastography Complement a Standard Breast Ultrasound?
A standard breast ultrasound provides excellent information about the size, shape, borders, and internal characteristics of any finding within the breast. Breast elastography adds a further dimension — tissue stiffness — which helps refine the overall assessment of any lesion identified.
What elastography adds to a breast ultrasound:
– A colour-coded stiffness map of the lesion relative to the surrounding normal breast tissue
– A stiffness score or strain ratio that supports the standard BI-RADS classification
– Additional confidence when a lesion appears probably benign — potentially avoiding an unnecessary biopsy
– Supporting information when a lesion’s features are borderline on conventional imaging
Breast elastography is performed seamlessly during your breast ultrasound appointment at Epoch Medical Imaging in St Ives Shopping Village — no additional preparation is needed and only a few minutes of extra scan time are required. Both findings are reported together by our specialist radiologist.
Can Elastography Differentiate Benign from Malignant Breast Lesions?
Breast elastography provides useful supporting information when characterising a breast lesion. As a general principle, benign lesions tend to be softer and more compressible, while lesions that need closer assessment tend to be stiffer relative to the surrounding tissue.
How this works in practice:
– Simple fluid-filled cysts appear very soft on elastography — entirely consistent with their benign nature.
– Benign solid masses such as fibroadenomas typically show mild, uniform stiffness.
– Lesions of concern tend to show greater stiffness, providing additional supporting information for the radiologist’s assessment.
[Elastography] is always interpreted alongside the complete clinical and imaging picture — it is a supporting tool, not a standalone test. All findings are reviewed and reported by our specialist radiologists at Epoch Medical Imaging in St Ives Shopping Village, with expert diagnostic results sent promptly to your referring doctor.
Who Is Breast Elastography Recommended For?
Breast elastography is performed as part of a comprehensive breast ultrasound when it will add clinically meaningful information to the assessment.
It is particularly helpful for:
– Lesions with borderline or equivocal features on standard ultrasound (BI-RADS 3 or uncertain BI-RADS 4) — where stiffness data may support a monitoring rather than biopsy recommendation
– Cases where additional confidence about a probably benign finding is sought before recommending surveillance
– Lesions being monitored over time where additional characterisation is clinically useful
Your specialist radiologist will determine during your breast ultrasound whether elastography adds value for your specific finding. It is not routinely applied to every breast scan — its use is guided by what is found during the standard assessment. Epoch Medical Imaging in St Ives Shopping Village provides breast ultrasound with elastography capability for patients across the North Shore.
Preparation & Duration for Thyroid Elastography
Thyroid elastography requires no preparation beyond what is needed for a standard thyroid ultrasound — which itself requires nothing at all.
What to expect:
– Eat, drink, and take all medications completely normally before your appointment.
– The elastography component adds approximately 3 to 5 minutes to your thyroid ultrasound appointment.
– The total thyroid ultrasound and elastography appointment takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
– A small amount of warm gel is applied to the neck and the probe is moved gently over the skin — no injections, no discomfort, and no recovery time needed.
Your report is reviewed by our specialist radiologist and sent to your referring doctor within 24 to 48 hours. To book, call Epoch Medical Imaging in St Ives on (02) 9129 6999 or visit us at St Ives Shopping Village, 166 Mona Vale Road, serving patients from Turramurra, Pymble, Gordon, Killara, and Wahroonga.
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