Mammography

Course of the examination

A mammogram takes about 15 minutes.

• The nurse will escort you from the waiting room to the examination room, specifically for mammograms. 
• You uncover your upper body for the examination and stand with your upper body in front of the x-ray machine. The nurse places your breast on a plate after which the breast is compressed with a second plate. This is necessary to get a good image. Many women experience this compressing as unpleasant, but it is not painful.
• We take at least two images of each breast (in different directions). The nurse immediately checks if the recordings were successful. This is an image quality check and says nothing about the medical outcome of the pictures. If the pictures are successful, you can get dressed again. 

The radiologist who performed the examination reviews the images, describes abnormalities and discusses the findings with your attending doctor.

This examination is available by appointment only. Please always bring your identification card, your doctor's prescription and any previous radiological examinations.

Preparation

No specific preparation is required.

Inform your doctor if you have breast implants.

A screening mammography is a mammogram that is part of the breast cancer screening project of the Flemish Government. All women in Flanders between the ages of 50 and 69 can benefit from this free mammography. Screening mammography should never involve any other radiographic or ultrasound examination of the breasts. The screening mammography always undergoes a double reading: a second radiologist from another department always views these images as well. As a result, the results are known only after about three weeks.

Aftercare

No specific aftercare is required.