Yes. A carotid ultrasound uses sound waves through a probe on your neck. There is no sedation, no injection, no contrast dye and no aftereffect, so you can drive yourself home and return to normal activity immediately. The separate question of whether you should be driving at all, given the reason for the scan, is worth raising directly with your neurologist.
Yes. A carotid ultrasound uses sound waves through a probe on your neck. There is no sedation, no injection, no contrast dye and no aftereffect, so you can drive yourself home and return to normal activity immediately. The separate question of whether you should be driving at all, given the reason for the scan, is worth raising directly with your neurologist.
The study works by bouncing sound waves off the carotid arteries and measuring how the blood moves. A technologist applies gel and moves a probe along each side of your neck while you lie still. Nothing enters your body, nothing is injected, and no sedative is offered because none is needed. The gel wipes off and you leave.
Carotid ultrasound is not one of the six studies performed at the CNS offices, because there is no imaging suite here. It is arranged at an imaging centre or hospital vascular laboratory. What happens at CNS is the interpretation: the neurologist who ordered it reviews the report alongside your history and explains what it changes.
If the reason for the scan was a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack, then whether you should be driving at all is a separate and more serious question than whether the scan affects you. Nevada has rules about driving after certain neurological events. Raise it directly rather than assuming the scan result settled it.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
MRI, CT, carotid ultrasound and lumbar puncture are not performed at these offices. They are arranged at an imaging centre or hospital, and the report is reviewed with you by the neurologist who ordered it.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: carotid artery disease; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.