Facilities : Diagnostics : Ultrasound
At Blackness Vets we are happy to be able to offer ultrasound examination as an additional diagnostic aid.
Ultrasound (or echocardiography) is where we use a sophisticated machine that can send ultrasonic high frequency sound waves through the body tissues.
These waves bounce back off the tissues and show up as a picture which we can interpret as parts of the internal organs.
Why would my pet need an ultrasound scan?
Just as some tissues such as bone show up well on x-ray other types of tissue show up better on ultrasound.
This technique is very good for looking at fluid filled organs such as the bladder or uterus.
It will also allow us to "see" into a fluid filled abdomen and try to assess if there may be a tumour inside or if the internal organs such as the liver are enlarged.
What happens when my pet gets the scan?
One of the benefits of ultrasound is that is is both painless to the patient and it does not emit radiation. This means that we only rarely have to administer a sedative to carry out this procedure.
If your vet recommends an ultrasound examination however we will still normally admit your pet for the morning as there may be other procedures such as blood tests we would like to perform.
If your pet is having other diagnostic tests such as radiography which require sedation we would normally carry out the ultrasound examination while your pet is sedated to minimize stress.
To perform the ultrasound scan an area of hair over the area to be scanned must be clipped, this is to allow optimum contact between the probe and the skin.
Sometimes your pet may be lain down on a blanket on the table, sometimes we perform the examination with your pet seated or standing depending on the organ being looked at.
The skin is cleaned with surgical spirit and a small amount of ultrasound gel is applied.
The ultrasound examination may take from around 10 minutes to over 30 minutes.
Pregnancy diagnosis
We are happy to be able to offer pregnancy diagnosis by ultrasound examination for dogs and cats.
This is an accurate technique from approximately 4 weeks after mating, although loss of pregnancy may naturally occur after this date.
If the initial scan is inconclusive (which may happen if the date of mating was unknown of if implantation occurred later than expected) we offer a second scan 1 or 2 weeks later free of charge.
We may be able to tell approximate numbers in a litter (i.e. one or two or more than two) but in domestic pets ultrasound is an insensitive indicator of numbers as there can be a degree of overlap in the picture.
Similarly we can not predict exact due dates (or sexes, or colours!).
We will, if possible, provide a print-out picture of your pet's scan.
We find being able to offer ultrasound examination a big asset in our practice.
However we may sometimes feel that a more detailed examination of a particular organ is needed for which we will be happy to refer you to a recognised veterinary specialist for example in cardiology or internal medicine.
