Diagnostic Services

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is an important, non-invasive diagnostic device. Used primarily for abdominal and cardiac problems, Bellerose Animal Hospital is equipped with the latest ultrasound technology to help diagnose disease and other health problems quickly and efficiently.

Ultrasound is a non-invasive, modern technique that provides our veterinary staff with a real-time "movie" of what is happening inside your pet's body. Ultrasound produces a visual map of the interior of the body, and is often crucial to the comprehensive diagnosis of diseases of the heart, liver, kidneys, gallbladder, spleen and other internal organs.

Radiology

Radiographs (X-rays) are extremely helpful for diagnosing medical and surgical problems. If your veterinarian feels a lump or growth in your pet's abdomen, an X-ray can determine where the mass is located. If your pet is experiencing a medical problem, an X-ray can often pinpoint the organ where the problem is occurring. Tumors and foreign bodies (lodged in the stomach or the intestine) can be seen in an X-ray. By providing an inside snapshot of your pet's body and organs, x-rays can aid in the diagnosis of orthopedic problems such as fractures and hip dysplasia, as well as arthritic changes in bones and joints. Heart and lung disease, gastrointestinal problems and bladder stones can often be diagnosed quickly and efficiently using x-rays. Our veterinary technicians are well-trained in operating our new digital X-ray equipment.

For excellent x-ray image quality, we have converted to digital radiology. Digital radiology is a new technology and produces better diagnostic images than the traditional film and plate radiographs.

Digital x-ray equipment has many benefits for you, your pet, our staff, and the environment.

The benefits for you:

• X-rays easily can be saved to a disk and sent home with you to share with the rest of your pet's health care team and specialists.
• As compared to x-ray film, disks are easier to store and transport.

The benefits for your pet:

• Images can be sent to specialists via email when a faster response time is needed. This ultimately allows your pet's health care team to easily collaborate and provide your pet with the best veterinary care possible.
• Since fewer radiographs are needed, exposure to radiation is greatly reduced. After the x-ray has been taken, the image density and contrast can be manipulated to enhance the quality of the image, and thus generally eliminates the need for additional x-rays.
• Fewer radiographs and no time needed for film development means less time that your pet remains on the x-ray table. Less time on the table means less stress for your pet!
• Our medical staff has access to your pet's radiographs almost instantly, since images appear on a computer screen within 6 seconds. This saved time is crucial in emergency situations and allows our staff to begin your pet's medical care more rapidly.

The benefits for our staff:

• Decreased exposure to radiation due to fewer radiographs.
• More efficient method of taking x-rays as compared to traditional film equipment.
• Eliminates the need for x-ray storage since all digital images are stored on a computer.
• Eliminates exposure to toxic chemicals used in developing x-ray film.

The benefits for the environment:

• There are no chemicals needed to develop the film, and thus no chemicals that need to be disposed of that would be toxic to the environment.
• There are no x-ray films, so there is ultimately less waste associated with digital x-rays.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy is often used when routine blood and urine tests, x-rays and ultrasound do not provide a complete diagnostic picture. Endoscopy means "looking inside," and this diagnostic procedure allows our veterinarians to view the interior surfaces of your pet's organs without resorting to invasive surgery. An endoscope consists of a rigid or flexible tube, a light source and a camera. The endoscope transmits images of the organs to a monitor, giving your veterinarian to a clear, detailed view of your pet's organs. Endoscopes are also useful for telemedicine procedures and minimally-invasive surgeries.

The endoscope is also useful in obtaining biopsy samples. When performing a biopsy under such conditions, the endoscope serves as the "eye" of the veterinarian. This procedure is extremely helpful in obtaining superficial biopsies of stomach, proximal small intestine and colon and look for cancer of the esophagus or stomach.

Another function of the endoscope is to aid the veterinarian in the removal of foreign objects. Using the endoscope as a guide, the veterinarian may be able to remove objects such as toys, buttons and other foreign objects more quickly and without resorting to major surgery.

Anesthesia is required to keep your pet calm during the endoscopic procedure; however, the amount of anesthesia needed—and the subsequent recovery time—are far less than what is required for invasive surgery.

Diagnostic Laboratory

A pet that appears healthy can often be hiding symptoms of disease. Routine blood testing helps your veterinarian learn things about your pet's health that cannot be spotted during routine physical examinations.

We are equipped with sophisticated instruments that allow us to measure many laboratory values. As a compliment to our regular laboratory services, our in-house diagnostic capabilities allow us to get results pre-surgically, or in an emergency, within minutes.

Our extensive laboratory services provide information that is critical to the sick or injured pet. We have access both in-house and at our centralized reference laboratory to extensive diagnostic testing allowing animals to receive appropriate treatment in a timely manner. Our laboratory is capable of processing a number of blood tests, including cholesterol, blood glucose and complete blood counts. We also process pre-anesthetic blood tests, which are a necessary step before your pet undergoes surgery.

Cardiac Evaluation and Monitoring

Echocardiography is a standard, non-invasive technique for assessing cardiac anatomy, pathology and function. High-frequency sound waves produced from a hand-held device are directed at the heart. The sound waves are reflected back to the machine and an image is produced. This image is transmitted to a video monitor where it can be seen. The image may be still or moving.

Animals, like people, can suffer from a wide variety of heart diseases. In order to correctly diagnose and treat these diseases, it is necessary to see inside the heart, visualize the movement of the chambers, and to look at the valves in motion. This is the area where ultrasound predominates. Using ultrasound, it is possible to watch the heart in motion and to measure each of its' parts. Ultrasound also allows the doctor or technician to measure the actual physical effects of various heart medications and to carefully adjust dosages.

Bellerose Animal Hospital uses the latest veterinary diagnostic equipment to evaluate and monitor your pet's cardiac health. We invite you to discuss your pet's cardiac treatment options with our veterinarians.