Our mission is to always provide excellent care to all our patients and is what drives us to offer a wide range of diagnostics. One of those diagnostics is ultrasound. What is ultrasound?

Ultrasound images are created by using sound waves that bounce off of solid and/or fluid-filled structures and create an image. Compared to radiographs (x-rays) that look at the overall size and shape of various bod parts, ultrasound images allow our veterinarians to evaluate the inside of important structures. These structures include: heart, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, bladder, lymph nodes, GI structures, thyroid gland and the eyes. Ultrasounds can be very useful in diagnosing many conditions, such as tumors, cysts, congenital malformations and pregnancy. It is a non-invasive imaging test that allows visual evaluation of the architecture of the heart as well as abdominal organs without the need for invasive surgery.

Imaging structures that are filled with either gas or liquid can be a challenge due to the shadows produced. However, it is still very important to try to ultrasound these structures to identify lesions, masses and/or disease. Fasting an animal 12 hors prior to the ultrasound scan helps reduce the likely-hood of air and/or gas interference. Being able to offer high quality ultrasound images allows our veterinarians to provide the best medicine to your furry companion. If needed, images may be sent to a radiologist for further evaluation. It is our hope that we will be offering echocardiograms (ultrasound of the heart) in the near future.