At Altadena Valley Animal Clinic we offer our patients a broad range of diagnostic resources including ultrasound. Ultrasound is a very safe procedure, requiring no needles, no medicine preparations, no radiation considerations, and it is non-invasive. While x-rays provide us with good images of bone, an ultrasound is the best way to identify problems with internal organs and soft tissue.
Ultrasound consists of a machine emitting sound waves through your pet's soft tissue and the return of those waveforms is interpreted into a 2-dimensional picture on screen. It is used most often to diagnose bladder and kidney stones, discover abdominal masses, to aid in the assessment of organ function, to diagnose cardiac problems, and to evaluate pregnancies.