At Hershey Animal Emergency Center we offer both emergency/point of care ultrasounds and full abdominal ultrasounds. Point of care ultrasounds are performed by the veterinarian treating your pet and are a quick, focused search for any major emergent abnormalities such as fluid in the abdomen or chest, or masses/tumors. Full abdominal ultrasounds are performed by Dr. Meghan Myers or Lindsay Powell, CVT and the images are sent for specialist interpretation. These ultrasounds are more in depth and look at the entire abdomen, including the bladder, liver, spleen, pancreas, intestines, stomach, kidneys, etc. Results are discussed with you and a full report is sent to your regular veterinarian.
What is Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is a tool that emits sound waves in order to see things inside your pet’s body. You may be familiar with ultrasound to “see” infants before they are born, inside an expectant mother. In the same way, ultrasounds are used in veterinary medicine to “see” inside your pet in order to diagnose problems.
The great thing about ultrasound is that it is completely painless and harmless to your pet. In fact, your pet may be completely unaware that this advanced diagnostic tool is being used.
The ultrasound tool itself is a handheld device that is slowly moved across the surface of your pet’s body. Using a combination of the handheld device and a computer, our dedicated veterinarians and technicians can “see” inside your pet.
How Do Ultrasounds and X-Rays Differ?
There is a big difference between ultrasounds and x-rays. The biggest difference is the quality of the image. Ultrasounds are great at seeing tissues, whereas x-rays are better at seeing solid structures, such as bone.
What Conditions Make Ultrasound Useful?
There are many different health issues where the use of ultrasound for pets can be very useful. These include:
- Situations where blood or urine tests are abnormal or inconclusive
- Assessing the liver and spleen when internal bleeding is suspected
- Suspicion of intestinal disease such as inflammatory bowel disease or intestinal cancer
- Checking for internal bleeding or ascites(fluid) build up in the abdomen
- Suspicion of internal damage, such as from vehicular impact
- Presence of diseases that may not show up as well on x-rays, such as cancer, adrenal disease, pancreatitis
- Foreign objects swallowed that may be stuck in the stomach or intestines and causing a blockage
Hershey Animal Emergency Center offers Inpatient ultrasounds 7 days/week.
Hershey Animal Emergency Center offers Outpatient ultrasounds every Tuesday.
Call 717-298-7883 to schedule an ultrasound for your pet.