Imaging

State-of-the-art equipment

Imaging is a very important aid in making a medical diagnosis, providing the most appropriate treatment and giving your pet the best chances. 

Images to believe what you see

Thanks to various imaging techniques, a fracture can be diagnosed quickly, a small lego lost by a child can be removed from the dog's nostril in which it got stuck, and a breeder can discover his future kittens well before they are born. These are just some of the situations in which imaging is becoming essential.

At our surgery, you can take advantage of our experience in this field, as well as our comprehensive, high-performance equipment. Many vets take advantage of this and refer to us animals that need our "pictorial vision".

  • ULTRASOUND
  • ENDOSCOPY
  • RADIOLOGY

ULTRASOUND

Ultrasound

Ultrasound can be used to carry out a quick, painless examination on an awake animal. It has become an essential part of modern veterinary medicine.

Ultrasound is useful for many diagnostic purposes, in particular for assessing the internal organs of the abdomen, heart, thyroid, etc. Often complementary to radiology, ultrasound is becoming essential for a complete assessment of organs. It enables the structure of the organs to be visualised. The structure may be altered, with thickened tissue or, conversely, tissue that is too thin, and nodules may be revealed. What's more, the mobility of the organs can be observed live, whether it's the contraction of the stomach, intestines or other organs, or the movement of fluids (blood, urine, liquid in the abdomen, etc.), providing a deep insight into the body's anatomy. Guided in this way, biopsies can also be taken and analysed. This technique can be used, for example, to assess tumour extension.   

Ultrasound examination uses ultrasound to provide a visual image. This requires the animal to be shorn in the area to be scanned, to allow the ultrasound to pass through more easily, so that the image is sharper and the diagnosis more accurate. In the case of abdominal ultrasound, we also ask that the animal be fasted, so that the gastric contents do not prevent the organs from being seen.

Our ultrasound scanner is equipped with a Doppler probe that can be used to assess organ vascularisation (presence or absence of vascularisation, intensity and direction) and to determine foetal heart rate, which is very useful in the gestation monitoring we offer.

Our very high quality ultrasound images represent an additional diagnostic value and are therefore of crucial importance for our animal patients.

ENDOSCOPY

Endoscopy

A gentle method of examination using fibre-optic systems and a fine camera to look inside body orifices and cavities. . 

Endoscopy provides a real vision of a body cavity using a video image. Vétérinaire des Plaines-du-Loup is equipped with a wide range of "scopes" that allow us to observe most anatomical cavities in dogs and cats, however small and difficult they may be to access. Different names are used depending on the cavity observed..

Arthroscopy is used when the operation concerns a joint, laparoscopy or laparoscopy when the operation concerns the abdominal cavity, gastroscopy when it concerns the stomach more specifically, colonoscopy for observation of the various sections of the intestine, rhinoscopy for the nasal cavity, etc. 

Endoscopy requires sedation or general anaesthesia to protect both the patient and the instruments.

RADIOLOGY

Radiology

Radiology allows us to visualise different parts of the body, enabling us to establish a diagnosis quickly and begin treatment without delay. 

Vétérinaire des Plaines-du-Loup is equipped with a digital radiology facility.

Radiology can be used to refine a number of diagnoses. For thoracic pathologies, pleural or pericardial effusions, pulmonary oedemas or mediastinal tumours come to mind. For abdominal pathologies, X-rays are very useful for detecting urinary calculi, stomach dilatation-torsion, etc. This examination can also be supplemented by the addition of contrast and its tracking in the digestive tract, for example, enabling other details to be seen, as well as assessing the movement of organs and their contents. Of course, for all bone pathologies, radiography remains the imaging technique of choice, for example for fractures, including for monitoring their healing, or for bone tumours.

When more advanced imaging examinations are required (scanner or MRI), we always work in collaboration with other specialists to whom we can refer your pet.

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