Why is ultrasound important?
Ultrasound is really important because your basic diagnostics like blood work and x-rays sometimes can't find those little things that we really need to find, and they are not a full comprehensive workup. The ultrasound can actually image all of the organs thoroughly. You get a snapshot image with an x-ray, and you get some idea of how the organs are functioning with blood work. However, the ultrasound looks at the full image of a 3D view of that organ and tells us if there's something wrong with it. It can be very important, especially when we've exhausted all the other possibilities of diagnostics and we're just not finding what's going on. The basic thing is when we first see blood work and there's an abnormality and we can't find anything on x-ray, that's where we start going to ultrasound. We want to get an overall health picture, so there are so many wide varieties of conditions where you want to look internally. I really feel like it's one of the best diagnostic tools to really dig deep and figure out what's going on internally.
How does ultrasound compare to other diagnostic tools?
Ultrasound is kind of an adjunct. They all have their benefits, and sometimes you need all three, depending on the situation. However, ultrasound is more of a thorough 3D view. You get to really get around the organ, see all the way around, and see all the surfaces in real time versus a snapshot with x-ray or slices with CT. It's nice because you actually see things moving, and you see much more movement and volatility going on in there. If you want to dig deep to see if there's something stuck and you want to see everything surrounding it, you get a real-time picture. So, it's one of the best diagnostics.
Is ultrasound safe for pets?
Ultrasound is very safe; it's non-invasive. It's an imaging technique where we create an environment where the animal feels very comfortable and not scared. So, if any diagnostic tool were out there, it's one of the safest and most non-invasive. The basics are you normally drop off early in the morning, and we give a light sedation. It is not anesthesia, just a little light sedation so that they're comfortable. They're laying on their back, we have technicians hanging out with them, they have a nice comfy pillow, and we shave the abdomen and then do the ultrasound. That takes about 40 minutes or so. We reverse that sedation, and they're normally out the door by early afternoon. There are times when the pet does not need sedation; they're just perfectly comfortable 100% on their back, which is always nice, but that's not always the case. So, when we give that light sedation, they definitely feel a lot more comfortable. They're fully awake, just a little out of it, and so very comfortable for the pet, and it's not invasive. It's something that doesn't cause them pain or any discomfort.
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