Abdominal ultrasound
An abdominal ultrasound looks at your pet's organs one at a time, without surgery and usually without sedation, and every scan taken here gets a report from a board-certified internal medicine specialist.
An abdominal ultrasound is a moving picture of the organs inside your pet’s belly, taken with a probe and some gel. It looks at the liver, gallbladder, spleen, adrenal glands, pancreas, stomach, intestines, kidneys and bladder one at a time.
What it shows that an X-ray cannot
An X-ray flattens the whole abdomen into a single overlapping image. It is very good at some questions, such as whether there is a stone in the bladder or gas where gas should not be. It is poor at others, because the outline of an organ tells you little about what the organ is made of.
Ultrasound shows each organ’s own structure: whether a spleen has a mass in it, whether an intestinal wall has thickened and in which layer, whether the liver looks inflamed or infiltrated, whether the adrenal glands are enlarged.
The usual reasons a scan is recommended
Bloodwork that came back abnormal without saying why. Weight loss with a normal appetite. Vomiting or diarrhea that keeps returning. Straining, or a change in how your pet urinates. An abdomen that felt abnormal during an examination. A pet who is simply unwell, and whose first round of testing did not explain it.
Bloodwork and a urinalysis usually come first, because they cost less and they often settle whether imaging is needed at all.
On the day
Most of the abdomen is shaved so the probe makes proper contact, then your pet lies on their back on a padded surface. Most manage that without much difficulty for the length of the scan. Some patients are given light sedation, arranged in advance.
Your pet goes home the same day.
Who performs the scan, and who writes the report
These are two different jobs and they are done by two different people.
The scanning is done here by our own veterinarians and technicians rather than by a visiting service, and they are certified in ultrasound and echocardiography through Oncura. The person holding the probe has been trained to capture the images a specialist needs.
Every abdominal ultrasound taken here then goes to a board-certified internal medicine specialist for a report, and the report is included in the price of the scan.
If your pet is seen at another hospital
You do not need a referral to book an ultrasound here.
If your own veterinarian would rather keep the rest of your pet’s care and send you here for the scan alone, that works too. We telephone you with the results and send the specialist’s report to them, and they take the next steps from there.
What it costs
An abdominal ultrasound is $690, including the specialist’s report. The STAT report is $169 on top of that, and it is optional.
Ready when you are
Ultrasound — common questions
Does my pet need to fast before an abdominal ultrasound?
Yes, an overnight fast. Food and gas in the stomach and intestines sit between the probe and the organs behind them. Water is fine. If your pet is very young, or diabetic, ask us before you fast them.
Will my pet be shaved?
Most of the abdomen, yes. Ultrasound needs the probe in contact with skin, and that means more hair than owners usually expect.
Will my pet need sedation?
Most pets manage the scan without it. We can usually tell in advance which ones will need sedation, and we say so when the scan is booked rather than leaving it as a surprise on the day.
How long until I get the results?
One to three days for the standard report. There is also a faster STAT report for $169. If we scan in the morning it usually comes back the same day. If the scan is later than that, expect it early the next morning.
Related
Call and we will arrange it
20801 N Scottsdale Rd, Suite 101 · Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-585-3512