Private Abdominal Ultrasound in London — £180, With No Referral to Wait For

Why book your abdominal ultrasound with us?

Our prices sit on the page rather than behind a phone call, so you can see the fee and the appointment length before you decide anything. An abdominal scan is £180 and you are booked in for 20 to 25 minutes, which is long enough for the sonographer to work through each organ properly and to answer what you want to ask before you leave. No GP letter is needed, and there are appointments at the weekend as well as on weekdays.

The ultrasound scan list runs well beyond the abdomen. Everything the clinic publishes is set out below, each with its own fee and the time to allow:

Not sure the abdomen is the right area to scan? Get in touch and the team will talk it through with you, or book a private GP appointment at £90 for 15 minutes if you would rather be examined first. Nobody can tell you what is wrong down a telephone line, and we would rather say when a scan is not the sensible next step than take your money for one. The whole price list is published on this site. If what has brought you to that list is a lump you have found, one thing first. A new lump should always be shown to your GP as well as scanned — a lump in the breast, the testicle, or one in the neck that has lasted more than three weeks needs an urgent NHS assessment that a private scan does not replace. Book a scan alongside that, not instead of it. If you are a GP or consultant sending a patient, refer a patient sets out what we need.

What an abdominal ultrasound can, and cannot, show

The scan builds a live picture of the solid organs in the upper abdomen and the large vessels running behind them. It is particularly good at fluid, stones, and changes in the size or texture of an organ, which is why it is so often the first look rather than the last word.

In a standard study the sonographer works through:

• Liver — its size and texture, signs of fat or scarring, and any obvious lesion.
• Gallbladder and bile ducts — gallstones, a thickened wall, or a duct wider than it should be.
• Pancreas, in part — the head is usually seen, but bowel gas often hides the tail, and the report says when the view was limited.
• Spleen — chiefly whether it is enlarged.
• Kidneys — size, stones, cysts, and any hold-up of urine draining away.
• Abdominal aorta — the width of the vessel, where it can be seen clearly; bowel gas sometimes obscures it, and the report says so when the view was limited.

Men are invited for free NHS aneurysm screening in the year they turn 65 — this scan is not a substitute for that invitation. Sudden severe pain in the abdomen or back, especially with feeling faint, is a 999 call rather than an appointment. If you have seen blood in your urine, even once and even if it has stopped, tell your GP promptly — that needs an urgent assessment including a look inside the bladder, which is not something a scan here can do. What it cannot do is rule everything out. Gas and bowel sit in the way of some structures, deeper organs are harder to reach in a larger abdomen, and an ultrasound is not a cancer screen — a normal result does not mean nothing is there. Where the picture is limited the report says so and suggests what would answer the question better, which is sometimes a CT or MRI scan elsewhere. If the liver itself is the worry, a liver FibroScan measures how stiff it is and is a separate 15-minute appointment at £220.

How to prepare: the fasting instruction

Preparation matters more for this scan than for most. Eating makes the gallbladder squeeze down and empty, and it stirs up gas in the bowel, so a fed abdomen is a harder abdomen to see into. A scan done on a full stomach can be a wasted trip, which is why the instruction is worth following.

You will usually be asked to:

1. Have nothing to eat for the number of hours the team specify when they ring — usually several hours before the appointment, and a morning slot after an overnight fast is the easiest way to do it.
2. Keep drinking plain water. It helps rather than hinders; fizzy drinks, chewing gum and smoking are best avoided because they add air.
3. Take your regular medicines as normal with a sip of water, unless somebody has told you otherwise.
4. Wear something loose in two pieces, so the abdomen can be uncovered without undressing fully.

If you have diabetes, or you look after someone who cannot go without food comfortably, say so when you book and the team will work the timing out with you rather than leaving you to puzzle over it. The exact instruction is confirmed when they ring, because it changes when more than one area is being scanned — a pelvic view, for instance, wants a full bladder rather than an empty stomach. Please note the clinic does not carry out pregnancy scans of any kind. Booking for a child? Tell us their age when you ring. A patient under 16 must be brought by a parent or someone with parental responsibility, who consents to the test with them, and some examinations are not suitable for children — the team will say plainly if yours is not one we can do.

How long it takes, and when the report arrives

The appointment is 20 to 25 minutes. Scanning takes most of that; the rest is checking in, moving position once or twice so the sonographer can see round the ribs and the bowel, and the questions you want to put at the end. There is no injection, no sedation and no recovery time, so you can eat as soon as it is over and drive yourself on to work.

A written report follows. It is normally e-mailed to you as a PDF within one working day of your appointment. You receive a copy and, with your consent, we can send it to your GP or consultant — for a weekend appointment that copy can take up to 48 hours. The report sets out what was examined, what was seen and what should sensibly happen next, and your results explains how it reaches you.

Finding the clinic in London N13

Appointments take place at the London Diagnostic Centre in Palmers Green — at the rear of Grovelands Medical Centre, 1 Grovelands Rd, London N13 4RJ. The road turns off Aldermans Hill, and the clinic sits behind the medical centre rather than on the street front, which is worth knowing before you arrive.

Most people coming for this scan have not eaten since the night before, so a short journey is worth planning. Palmers Green station is a short walk, on the Hertford Loop line from Moorgate and Finsbury Park. Southgate and Oakwood, on the Piccadilly line, are a bus ride away on the 121; the W6 also runs from Southgate to Palmers Green station. By car, Enfield and Winchmore Hill come down Green Lanes, the A105, and Wood Green comes straight up the same road, while Bounds Green and Muswell Hill are a short run round the A406 North Circular.

• An early slot suits an overnight fast best — ask for the first of the day when you ring.
• Saturday and Sunday appointments run from 8am to 8pm, which many people find easier than losing a morning at work.
• Bring something to eat for afterwards. You can have it the moment the scan is finished.

The team will go through parking and where exactly to come when they confirm your appointment. If you use a wheelchair, have trouble with steps, or need an interpreter or someone with you, say so when the team ring back and they will tell you exactly what the building can and cannot do and arrange what is needed. Beforehand, what to expect sets out how a visit runs from arrival to leaving, and paying with insurance covers claiming on a policy.