Dr Carolyn Cairns has just completed a practical day-course in Abdominal Ultrasound, consolidating nicely all that she had learned on the summer on-line Ultrasound course. This was a small group of just 12 vets, with 7 willing and very well-behaved dogs on which to practice. The dogs were owned by some of the vets attending and all were very happy to be given such concentrated attention all day!
The course began with a couple of hours of intense, informative lectures, detailing the critical anatomical ‘landmarks’ which allow orientation and thorough ultrasound examination of the canine and feline abdomen. This included examination of the entire Gastrointestinal tract, from stomach to colon, and also some much trickier structures like the Pancreas and Adrenal Glands. The large abdominal Blood Vessels, Lymph nodes (the immune system of the gut) were also studied, as these help delineate many of the smaller structures of the abdomen.
The small number of delegates allowed each vet to spend around 3-4 hours scanning, with expert guidance from the team throughout the afternoon.
Westport Vets have also just acquired no less than two brand new Ultrasound scanners, one for Linlithgow and one for South Queensferry, so this course should prove invaluable for helping to get the best out of these superb machines. This should allow a greater number of abdominal cases to be worked-up on-site, reducing the need for referral to specialists.