When your furry friend is in pain, he or she cannot tell you what is wrong. If your pet swallowed something he or she shouldn’t have and is still feeling unwell, an animal ultrasound can help determine what’s wrong. But What Exactly is a Pet Ultrasound? Well, simply put, an animal ultrasound is a type of imaging that enables vets to look inside the body of your pet without undergoing surgery. It is a non-invasive technique whereby an ultrasound machine sends sound waves into the body of the pet, listens for the echoes which then create an image of what is going on inside. This technology gives veterinarians information about organs in the chest, abdomen, etc. However, in this article, we are going to focus on abdominal ultrasounds for pets.
Reasons For Taking Abdominal Ultrasounds In Pets
The veterinarian may suggest an abdominal ultrasound for various reasons including unexplained weight loss, unexplained diarrhoea, lack of appetite, abnormal blood work noticed through x-rays, fluid detected in the abdomen, etc.
This technique allows the vet to look at the texture and size of organs in a 3D manner, which illustrates abnormalities in their surfaces as well as changes in the organs. The pet ultrasound results can be helpful in determining whether:
-Surgery is required or not
-More blood tests should be done
-Biopsies should be conducted
What Are The Common Ultrasound For Pets Diagnoses?
Bladder and Kidneys
Pet Ultrasounds help the vets to take a look inside the kidneys, bladder, uterus or prostate. If your furry friend is having issues with urination, recurrent infections or the bloodwork shows kidney issues, then an ultrasound can be really helpful. This technique makes the diagnosis of a bladder tumor, for instance, way easier. It can show the vet if your pet has a tumour, where it’s located and whether surgery can remedy the problem.
Masses in The Abdomen
If your veterinarian suspects there is an abnormality or growth in the abdomen, or radiography shows possible mass, then a pet ultrasound can tell which organs are affected and whether surgery is the way to go.
Before ultrasound was readily available, vets did surgeries that were exploratory with very little information on what exactly they were going to find. Nowadays, however, an animal ultrasound prior to surgery can give your furry pal the best chance of survival or prevent them from undergoing surgery in the first place.
Adrenal Glands
Chances are you have heard about hyperadrenocorticism or Cushing’s disease in senior dogs and how it can be hard to diagnose and treat. Well, an ultrasound for pets allows vets to take a look at the little adrenal glands which are even hard to see on plain X-rays and give them insight on the condition.
Conclusion
There are numerous other things that can be assessed using abdominal ultrasound for pets, but I think we have shed enough light on what the procedure involves and how it can help. If your veterinarian thinks that an animal ultrasound is required, it can get you a quicker diagnosis, save your furry friend from an unnecessary surgical procedure or even get him or her in a lifesaving surgery in the right animal hospital. Also, a pet ultrasound can end up saving you time and money in the long haul.
