| One of the most important technological developments over the past few decades in veterinary medicine is the development of Ultrasound for diagnosing many prior difficult to diagnose diseases. For generations, all we had was routine X-rays to visualize bony structures for arthritis, tumors or fractures, as well as soft tissue structures of the abdomen and chest. While X-rays can certainly be helpful in diagnosing obvious pathologies, such as large masses and clearly evident metallic or bony foreign bodies in dogs and cats, as well as fractures, the majority of X-rays are highly insensitive in diagnosing many disorders. |  |
Although with the recent development of digital X-rays now carried by many veterinarians, many diagnoses are easily missed by relying on X-rays only. For years, we often prescribed cardiac drugs based on simply chest X-rays which look at only the size of the outside of the heart and EKG findings, as well as did many unnecessary exploratory abdominal surgeries to see if a pet had a tumor or obstruction. However, now if a pet presents with coughing and an enlarged heart on X-rays, and/or chronic digestive tract symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or weight loss, or organ enlargements on X-rays, Ultrasound in both of these cases is now considered routine and a standard of practice in more accurately diagnosing and treating a pet’s medical condition.
While Ultrasound is now increasingly available, even by general veterinary practitioners , I encourage clients to have the procedure done and read by specialists who do these studies regularly in their practices. Whether that is a veterinary cardiologist if one is looking at the heart, or a veterinary radiologist if one is looking at the abdominal cavity for diseases, tumors, etc. A specialist is critical in many cases in making an accurate diagnosis. As in human medicine, veterinary radiography is a specialty practice as well, and we deserve the same high standards in interpreting ultrasound in our dogs as we do for ourselves.
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