Feb2013_Old Mill Vet Surgery on ULTRASOUND

Happy New Year and welcome back to everyone in 2013! This year is the start of the eighth year of our family-owned practice offering the best veterinary care, for pets of all sizes. We have some great initiatives in mind for 2013, and look forward to celebrating our birthday (and some other big news!) with you all in the coming months.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our clients is to offer unrivalled local knowledge of the health issues facing your pets.  Both Dr Annika and Dr Slade have worked in the Old Mill Veterinary Surgery since it opened, and it is this experience that can mean a quicker diagnosis and a shorter recovery time.  Sometimes a little local knowledge and advice can even prevent illness or accident in the first place.

This local knowledge, teamed with state-of-the-art technology, is Old Mill Vet Surgery’s trademark.  We have profiled one piece of our modern equipment below.

For anyone who’s been present during a pregnancy ultrasound, you will know that there is no feeling quite like seeing a little growing baby wave and wriggle in real time. Now, ‘parents’ of fur-babies can experience the same excitement with the help of a brilliant new machine and Dr Annika Oksa Walker from the Old Mill Veterinary Surgery.

The MyLab5 ultrasound is a specialist grade machine which has already shown its value, in both giving owners a preview of their growing pups, and also in helping to diagnose difficult abdominal diseases in patients.  The machine is of the same high quality as the ultrasounds used on humans in specialty diagnostic centres, and can even record and print what the probe sees.  Dr Annika says that’s the best part of the puppy ultrasounds – sending the owners home with a DVD of the pups moving around.

Abdominal Ultrasounds are a non-invasive way of monitoring and diagnosing conditions that affect the abdominal cavity such as obstructions, tumours, bladder diseases and congenital conditions.  The machine also generates no radiation, unlike X-rays, so owners can often be present for pregnancy ultrasounds and watch the pups in real time.  The main benefit this machine brings to the clinic is to allow for all these diagnostic tests to take place within the Old Mill Vet surgery, where many other clinics may need to refer to specialist centres for such services.

Ultrasounds are quick, accurate and allow for targeted biopsies or sampling from specific organs, as you can watch the needle enter each organ or mass through the ultrasound screen.  Each ‘view’ can be frozen and printed to be shown to owners or specialists.  Organs, tumours and puppies can even be measured with a virtual ruler, giving the veterinarian accurate measurements to track growth or shrinkage. 

Despite having this incredible new piece of specialist equipment, Dr Annika’s ultrasound services are surprisingly affordable, and offer a great insight into the internal health of your pet.  For further information on the ultrasound services offered by Old Mill Veterinary Surgery, please call Ashli on 3425 2222.