Ultrasound has become more and more widely used for diagnostic purposes and is in some ways more useful than radiographs and other diagnostic tests.
Ultrasonography could be useful in assessing:
- Foreign body obstruction (bone, honky nut, socks etc)
- Masses in the abdomen (on liver, spleen, intestines etc)
- Bladder stones
- Adrenal glands (for Cushing's Disease in dogs)
- Gallbladder stones/obstruction
- Pancreatitis, a disease which is very common in dogs, and is known being found in cats too.
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
We can also use ultrasound to monitor ongoing cases progress. Ultrasound is very easily performed with most, if not all, of our patients awake with no anesthetics. Sometimes we may need to give them a mild sedation to take the edge off them if they are a bit anxious with the procedure. The ultrasound is performed in a quiet room with the lights dimmed. Some pets actually go to sleep during the procedure!
The pets will need to be clipped up (either around the chest or belly) and the whole procedure will take about 30 to 40 minutes. We generally require your pet to be fasted for 12 hours, and preferably with a full bladder.
