ultrasonography

Is sildenafil indicated in dogs with pulmonary arterial hypertension secondary to left-sided congestive failure? (spoiler alert….it’s not)

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to left-sided heart disease is categorised as type II in human medicine and is usually described as ‘post-capillary’. To some extent PAH may arise by transfer of hydrostatic pressure back through the pulmonary capillary bed. If elevations in pulmonary artery pressure are simply proportionate to changes in the pulmonary veins … Continue reading

28/07/2018 roger cardiology, Internal medicine, ultrasonography, Uncategorized

Re-formation of the gallbladder after cholecystectomy in a dog

An 11 y.o. FN CKCS was examined for investigation of multiple problems including degenerative mitral valve disease, splenic mass, pancreatitis and urinary tract infection. She had already undergone cholecystectomy via laparotomy several years earlier for management of gallbladder mucocoele. We were surprised to find that there was a relatively normal-looking gallbladder in a conventional position … Continue reading

26/07/2018 roger Internal medicine, ultrasonography

Ultrasonographic findings in feline exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)

This is just a snippet but maybe worth including because I’m not aware of any published images of the pancreas in cats with EPI. For example, there is no mention of imaging in this recent case series: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115185/ J Vet Intern Med. 2016 Nov-Dec; 30(6): 1790–1797. Feline Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency: A Retrospective Study of 150 … Continue reading

19/07/2018 roger Internal medicine, ultrasonography, Uncategorized

Effect of a visiting peripatetic sonography service on number of ultrasound examinations performed by other veterinary surgeons in a clinic

This is something I’ve long been interested in. A friend of mine, half joking I think, suggested to me that our aim should be to suppress the development of other budding sonographers in the practices which we visit. I tried to defend myself that this is not the case. I strongly believe it’s a win-win. … Continue reading

29/05/2018 roger ultrasonography

Putative acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to severe acute pancreatitis in a Cocker Spaniel

Lung ultrasound is always a good thing to include in a systematic ultrasound examination. You never know when you’ll find something which might affect case management. This is the pancreas of an acutely unwell, vomiting 7 y.o. Cocker Spaniel with no prior history of respiratory problems: That’s a pretty convincing pancreatitis. Both left … Continue reading

27/05/2018 roger Internal medicine, ultrasonography

Ultrasound of the canine and feline oesophagus

There’s not a whole lot in the published literature on sonography of the oesophagus. With a lot of it being inaccessible within the mediastinum other imaging modalities are required for a full assessment. However, it’s certainly possible to see both the cervical part and the distal oesophagus and worth looking for abnormalities as part of … Continue reading

26/05/2018 roger Internal medicine, ultrasonography

Portal vein anatomy in cats and dogs

Just a little note with a couple of things that I’ve not seen mentioned elsewhere. A standard view of the portal vein as seen in longitudinal plane from the right side has an ‘envelope’ configuration: In all of these images cranial is to the left of picture: In this video you can … Continue reading

26/05/2018 roger Internal medicine, ultrasonography

Lung ultrasound protocol

A little salutary tale from my week. This little dog was presented with a history of cough and, primarily, I was asked to perform an echo. My philosophy is that it’s good routine to do a full thoracic exam along with any echo and also to check the abdomen. This I duly did. Nothing abnormal … Continue reading

22/04/2018 roger cardiology, Internal medicine, ultrasonography

Pancreas of the week: no.1

To continue the problematic subject of ‘can an ultrasonographic diagnosis of pancreatitis can be made with any confidence?’, I thought I might post some images of specific cases without history and invite comments. Maybe you’d like to score this on a scale 1 to 5 where 1 = no evidence pancreatitis and 5 = definite … Continue reading

20/04/2018 roger ultrasonography

Exotic pets ultrasound workshop

Many thanks to the exotic pet team at Holly House Vets in Leeds for hosting us in a bit of adventurous scanning last night. It was really nice to go back and see how much their service has advanced. We were able to spend some time looking at snails, lizards, tortoises, ferrets … Continue reading

24/03/2018 roger ultrasonography