Ultrasound is a valuable diagnostic tool offered at the Drake Center. It gives a 3 dimensional, real-time image of internal organs. It provides different information than an x-ray and is often used in addition to x-rays to get the most information on what may be going on within a pet.

X-rays are great at high-lighting structures containing air (such as the lungs or gas in the intestines) and dense things (bone, bladder stones). However, x-rays have a difficult time penetrating fluid and give a more obscure or hazy picture if fluid is present. Ultrasound, on the other hand, is excellent at penetrating fluid at can evaluate some structures that are not visible on x-ray, such as lymph nodes, adrenal glands, pancreas, and gall bladder. X-rays can tell an overall organ’s size and location but Ultrasound can look within the organ for signs of a tumor, abscess, or abnormal vessels. Having an Ultrasound quickly available helps us rule out many disease processes and reach a diagnosis more quickly. It even allows us to perform Ultrasound-guided biopsies and aspirates which are extremely valuable in providing a specific diagnosis.

Ultrasonography provides you with more information to make educated decisions about the care of your pet. The Drake Center is committed to providing  you with the best diagnostic tools available so you can make informed choices about your pet’s care.

When treating medical conditions, the veterinarian will sometimes recommend a recheck exam to assess the outcome of the therapy. Recheck exams can be performed for a variety of conditions but they are almost always recommended for skin, ear and eye problems. Why?

The short answer is that these conditions can be difficult to treat. There is no “one size fits all” therapeutic approach. Recheck appointments for assessment of the response to therapy and then revision of the treatment based on how things are going is not only important but in many cases, absolutely critical to a successful outcome.

Let’s use an example to illustrate the point. Duke is a 3 year old chocolate lab that came in for shaking his head. During his physical exam, the doctor discovers that he has an ear infection. Checking a sample of the wax reveals abundant numbers of yeast. The doctor discusses potential causes of otitis and Duke is sent home with ear cleaner and a topical medication to reduce inflammation and to kill the yeast overgrowth. A recheck is recommended for 2 weeks to assess Dukes response to the recommended therapy. Duke and his owners return two weeks later reporting that he is much more comfortable and they are no longer seeing dark debris when cleaning. An otoscopic ear exam reveals 90% improvement. Excellent! An ear swab is taken and low and behold there are still large numbers of yeast organisms. At this point, if treatment were stopped it would just be a matter of time before the ears were uncomfortable again. The steroid in the ear medication helped the inflammation and so Dukes ear feels better. The medication has also been effective at partially clearing the infection; however, the ears are not “fixed”. At this point a decision needs to be made as to continuing therapy longer, changing therapy or looking for an underlying cause for the persistent infection.
Without recheck appointments, we basically are left with assumptions that the pets get better. This is a fine approach as long as they really do. Unfortunately, especially with chronic and frustrating conditions like skin and ear disease, there is just no way of knowing, and ultimately of helping, unless we look again.

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