An ultrasound exam is a minimally invasive technology that gives you and your clients a great deal of patient information, without the need for exploratory surgery or referral. Ultrasound is the best modality to evaluate fluid filled and soft tissue organs. Abdominal Ultrasound is used to diagnose a variety of both benign and malignant diseases such as the presence of stones within the urinary bladder, kidneys, or gall bladder, infection of the gall bladder, urinary bladder, prostate, or kidneys, and the presence of enlarged lymph nodes, abnormal blood vessels, or free fluid within the abdomen.
Ultrasound is especially beneficial in diagnosing disease of the pancreas (pancreatitis), adrenal abnormalities, urinary bladder wall tumors, and uterine infections (pyometra). With ultrasound guided sample acquisition, ultrasound can often differentiate benign organ changes and cancer.
In animals with a history of vomiting, ultrasound can be used to evaluate potential problems within the liver, gall bladder, or pancreas. The exam can often diagnose problems that are associated with the stomach or small intestinal wall, or see an intestinal foreign body, thus preventing a labor intensive and costly upper GI barium study.
The diagnosis of pregnancy and fetal viability (heartbeats) are commonly seen by 21 days post-conception with ultrasound, much earlier than can be done with x-rays (42 days).
In the heart, ultrasound (echocardiogram) is at it’s best, as the heart is fluid filled organ. Abnormalities such as a diseased heart muscle (hypertrophic and dilatory cardiomyopathy), fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion), and congenital abnormalities can be diagnosed and the severity can be assessed. Heartbase tumors, rarely seen on radiographs, are easily visualized with ultrasonography. An exam can also easily differentiate fluid within the cranial mediastinum from a mass.
Ultrasound can help reach a diagnosis quickly, all while saving time, costs, stress, and most importantly, lives!