Diagnostics and imaging

A diagnostic test is not the treatment. It is what makes the treatment specific — the difference between treating a dog who is unwell and treating a dog whose spleen has a mass on it. This page covers the three things most often recommended when an exam turns something up: laboratory testing, abdominal ultrasound, and echocardiography, which is an ultrasound of the heart.

Laboratory testing

Bloodwork and a urinalysis are usually the first step, because they are quick, they cost less than imaging, and they often settle whether imaging is needed at all. Where the samples are run matters to you mainly in how quickly the answer comes back: a result available during the same visit can change what happens that afternoon, while a panel sent to a reference laboratory comes back over the following days.

TKMichael — which diagnostics run in-house at each hospital, and which are sent out? Nothing in the current site copy evidences an in-house laboratory, so this section stays deliberately general until you confirm the analysers, the panels they run and the turnaround. The same question applies to radiography.

Abdominal ultrasound

An abdominal ultrasound is non-invasive, and it looks at the liver, gallbladder, spleen, adrenal glands, pancreas, stomach, intestines, kidneys and bladder one at a time. An X-ray flattens the abdomen into a single overlapping image; ultrasound shows each organ’s own structure. For a sick pet that is the difference between guessing at a problem and seeing whether it is inflammatory, infectious, or something more serious.

Your pet fasts overnight beforehand, and a small area of the abdomen is shaved so the probe makes proper contact with the skin. Most pets lie on their back on a padded surface for the scan without much difficulty; more anxious patients may be given light sedation. TKconfirm this fasting, shaving and sedation protocol is still accurate before it republishes.

Imaging is sometimes part of confirming or staging valley fever in the more advanced cases. TKconfirm whether this practice's ultrasound is ever actually used in a valley fever workup, before the connection is put more strongly than a general cross-link to the guide.

Echocardiography

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart, and one of the least invasive ways to watch the heart working in real time rather than reading a single still image. The usual reason a pet has one is a murmur heard during a routine exam. The scan evaluates the four chambers and the valves directly: whether a chamber wall has thickened, whether a chamber is enlarged, and whether the valves are closing properly so blood keeps moving in one direction.

A small area of hair is shaved on both sides of the chest for probe contact, and your pet lies on their side on a padded table. Most tolerate that well; more anxious patients may be given light sedation, and an overnight fast is recommended. An EKG is often run alongside the scan to check for arrhythmias, and chest X-rays may be added where there is a concern about fluid building up from heart failure. TKconfirm this protocol is current.

TKDVM SIGN-OFF REQUIRED, HIGH PRIORITY — both current sites state that echocardiograms are performed on "patients 2 years of age and older", with no explanation given. Michael: is that a real policy, and what is the rationale for it? It is not repeated on this page, because as written it would tell the owner of a puppy or kitten with a murmur not to book the diagnostic they need — and a murmur in a young animal is one of the things an echocardiogram is used to investigate. Either confirm the policy with its reasoning, or drop the line for good. Nothing about age publishes here until you decide.

Getting your results

Images are sent to a board-certified specialist for interpretation, and to a cardiologist in the case of an echocardiogram, rather than being read in the room and filed away. TKname that relationship if you can. "A board-certified specialist" is vague; if it is a named telemedicine radiology service, or a specific referral radiologist and cardiologist, naming them is a stronger claim and a real trust signal compared with the anonymous version on both current sites.

Results usually come back within about a day, and there is a faster option, at additional cost, for when the answer cannot wait. TKconfirm the standard turnaround (both sites currently say about 24 hours), the STAT turnaround (about 2 hours) and the STAT fee, before any of those figures publish as numbers.

Fear Free during a scan

Both scans involve things that can unsettle a pet even though none of it hurts: being shaved, lying still on their back or their side for a stretch of time, and being handled by someone who is not you.

Fear Free technique here is about the controllable parts. The least restraint that keeps your pet still and safe, rather than full-body restraint as the default. Sedation held in reserve for the patients who genuinely need it, rather than given to everyone. Warm gel rather than cold. TKconfirm the gel is actually warmed — a small detail, but a real and checkable one.

For an echocardiogram this is not only a comfort question. A calm patient produces better images than a struggling one, so keeping your pet relaxed directly affects the quality of the information the doctor gets back.

Who performs the scan

Capturing the images and interpreting them are two different jobs. The scan happens here; the reading is done by a specialist.

TKconfirm which Grayhawk doctors perform the scans, and whether imaging is offered to exotic patients as well as to dogs and cats.

What imaging costs

The cost covers the scan itself and the specialist’s interpretation fee, with the faster turnaround charged on top when you need it. TKMichael — is there a base range worth publishing on /pricing/ for either scan, even a rough one? Diagnostic imaging is the category owners are least able to estimate for themselves, which is what makes even an approximate figure useful.

As with any procedure here, you get an estimate before the scan is booked rather than a figure afterwards.