Of Mice and Men: Vets Make Broad Use of Ultrasound
Vol. 5 No. 12 p. 26

Veterinary ultrasound has literally gone from little gerbil leaps to big Great Dane bounds over the past few years. Introduced to the field in the early ’80s and originally used in veterinary reproductive medicine, ultrasound now helps vets diagnose everything from cardiac and hepatic disease to detached retinas and gastric and intestinal masses.

Robert T. O’Brien, DVM, the head of the imaging center at Michigan Veterinary
Specialists and founder of the International Veterinary Ultrasound Society—an organization that offers veterinary ultrasound certification—says ultrasound imaging is very common at his practice. “At least a third of our patients—here for internal medicine and surgery services—are going to receive an ultrasound scan if they have any signs at all referable to their abdomen—even remotely.”

He says animals as small as lab mice can benefit as much from ultrasound as cows and horses. For example, O’Brien says a 12-megahertz transducer, which is limited in human application to a breast or neck ultrasound, can do a whole-body scan of a gerbil or ferret.

Like a Belly Rub
Animals are rarely sedated for an ultrasound exam. O’Brien says most patients enjoy the massaging effect. “Most of the dogs are happy to lay down, to have someone pet them on the head, and give them some attention. The biggest problem is usually their tail wagging during the course of the study. Cats are much more individualistic and maybe more aloof, and they either just barely tolerate it or may need some form of restraint. But I’d say it’s an unusual cat that we would have to sedate.”

Animals with fine coats, such as Boxers, do not always need shaving before undergoing an ultrasound. “Sometimes we can just douse the area in isopropyl and work through the hair,” says O’Brien. However, northern breed dogs, such as Malamutes or Huskies who have been outside all winter and put on a thick coat, need prepping. “You might as well forget about trying to part their hair. You would need to do a lengthy clip,” says O’Brien.