Gall stones are a common cause of acute pancreatitis in people. In fact, potential cholelithiasis is purportedly the main reason to consider sonography in human patients with acute pancreatitis. In cats and dogs this does not appear to be the case. In a recent review paper the always excellent Penny Watson states: ‘Gall stones are … Continue reading
Glamorous job isn’t it just sometimes! This striking effect is uncommon and something I’ve not seen described anywhere in veterinary literature so just posting it here for the record. In the stomach you can get the same thing but it’s usually more obvious that it’s a fluid/gas interface. In dilated, fluid filled small or large … Continue reading
Just a nice image from today: a pup with 2 month history of persistent haematochezia and diarrhoea. Unresponsive to dietary manipulations, beta-lactams or antihelminthics. …but faecal microscopy positive for Isospora. Normally I have a healthy scepticism for the significance of faecal ‘pathogens’ but in this case it does seem a plausible explanation for … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
