When it comes to something as important as your pet’s health and well-being, we know they deserve the best care. That’s why we’re excited to talk about our in-house cat and dog ultrasound services. Several of our team members here at Advanced Pet Care of Clear Lake are certified in performing ultrasound procedures, which can provide an additional (and essential) layer of information about your pet’s current condition. All of our ultrasound images and echocardiograms are read by a board-certified radiologist and cardiologists, respectively. This means we can be more thorough in our assessments and formulate better treatment solutions for your pet.
If you have any questions or need to schedule an ultrasound appointment, contact us today at (281) 486-1509.
What is Ultrasound for Dogs & Cats?
Ultrasound is a non-invasive imaging technique that lets us take a good look at what’s going on inside your pet—without the need for surgery or any discomfort. It’s similar to digital radiography, in which we take X-ray images of your pet to look for (or monitor) certain health issues.
How Does Ultrasound Work?
Ultrasounds work a little differently from X-rays. First, unlike with X-ray, ultrasound produces real-time moving images, or footage, of your pet’s internal organs. X-ray only generates still images. Second, pet ultrasound uses sound waves to help us visualize your pet’s inner workings. This is because soundwaves effectively bounce off soft tissues and fluids inside your pet instead of penetrating them, and this produces echoes. These echoes are turned into images our team can view on a screen.
What Can We Diagnose with Pet Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is pretty amazing. It lets us view major organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and intestines in high resolution, along with much smaller structures like blood vessels. Ultrasound can also help us pick up on fluid buildup in the body, something that can’t be easily detected with an X-ray. Cysts, tumors, and changes in the shape, texture, and size of the internal organs can all be diagnosed with ultrasound. Pet pregnancies can also be confirmed and monitored using this technology.
Echocardiograms
An echocardiogram is a cardiac (heart) ultrasound. This procedure requires extensive skill and knowledge to perform, and it is used for viewing the heart inside and out, and evaluating its function. By seeing how your pet’s heart functions in real time, we can obtain key information about the size, shape, and condition of the heart, along with the chambers, valves, and other structures. We typically recommend echocardiograms for pets that may have heart disease or a heart murmur. Viewing the heart in detail can help our team better understand the cause and nature of your pet’s condition and formulate a treatment or long-term management plan.