Vet Fiona’s ideal day would be sitting in a dark room with her ultrasound and lots of lovely patients to scan! Ultrasound is a non-invasive diagnostic tool, used for a wide variety of conditions. While most clinics will have an ultrasound machine, not all scanners are created equal, and the skill of the vet doing the scanning also has a big impact. Fiona has done additional training in this area, and recently completed a course in heart scanning to further her skills.
We most commonly use ultrasound for diagnostic purposes. An abdominal scan may be recommended for pregnancy, to confirm infection in an organ such as the uterus (pyometra), check for a bladder stone, look for an intestinal blockage, or look for cancer in the abdomen, and so much more.
Ultrasound scanning of the heart is called echocardiography, and is used to check for heart disease in your pet. In dogs, the most common heart disease we see is mitral valve disease (MVD), where one of the valves in the heart becomes disease and starts to leak. An echocardiograph lets us see the heart and valves moving in real time, and lets us check the health of the heart and monitor the best time to start medications. In cats we often see a disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), where the muscular walls of the heart become too thickened. We can use the ultrasound to measure the thickness of the wall and see how well they are contracting.
Ultrasound can also be used for procedures. Ultrasound guided biopsies (FNAs) can be taken of abdominal organs, removing the need for surgery. In other cases fluid buildup in the chest or abdomen can be drained accurately and safely using the ultrasound as a guide.
An ultrasound scan is non-invasive, and only requires a clipped coat to remove the hair, and sometimes a mild sedation for our more wriggley patients who find lying still boring.
Lovely Polly was in the clinic recently after being slow and off form at home, as well as drinking a lot more than usual. Her initial blood tests showed some changes but didn’t give us a full diagnosis, so the next step was an abdominal scan. Polly was very good and enjoy the belly rubs while having her scan done. Her adrenal glands looked a little large on the scan, and this combined with her blood results and symptoms at home made Fiona suspicious of a disease called Cushings. Polly needs a specific blood test to confirm the diagnosis and then we can get her on some treatment.
If you would like more information about Fiona and her scans, get in touch