What to Expect

Planning and Appointment Flow

• Please be sure the referral documentation has been filled out and submitted at least 24 hours before the appointment.  In the event this cannot be done, please make accessible all pertinent patient information upon arrival to aid in providing the best possible study results and recommendations.

• Unless medically contraindicated, we strongly recommend all patients receive oral sedation prior to hospital admit to aid in a more complete and efficient study.  Typical recommendations that help facilitate ultrasound in the vast majority of patients include:

CATS: 100mg Gabapentin or  50mg Trazodone (2 hours before study)

DOGS: 15-20mg/kg Gabapentin + Trazodone 5-7mg/kg  (2 hours before study)

  *Please feel free to deviate from these recommendations but be aware of potential vasodilatory medications that could promote organomegaly as these may alter imaging interpretation in certain cases.

• We recommend the patient be checked in to your facility at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled ultrasound window to avoid delays.

• Please shave the patient prior to our arrival expedite the scan process and reduce the need to additional technical support.  The abdominal window to be clipped is similar to that required for any abdominal surgery, pubis to xyphoid in the cranial-caudal orientation and appropriately wide laterally.

• Upon our arrival, please have a technician or doctor briefly available to direct us to the patient and (when possible) provide an abbreviated case summary.

• Please have a technician available to help restrain the patient for the ultrasound as our ultrasonographer travels alone.  A typical ultrasound will be 30-45 minutes.

• Should injectable sedation be necessary, the managing DVM will be asked to facilitate the process for us and have the assisting technician monitor the patient accordingly.  *Again, this necessity is dramatically less likely when the patient has been administered oral sedatives before the study.

• Following the ultrasound an immediate verbal summary will be provided for the managing DVM with a formal report of findings and medical recommendations within 24 hours.  Given we do not consult directly with your client, please let us know if the client-facing video summary should be provided with the report.

• Optional (upon request) narrated video summary of findings directly from ultrasonographer- just like they were in the room with us!  These serve as a client-facing supplement for your discussion with the client.  With a direct, narrated explanation of what is found (including images), the client gets more value, better understanding, and discussion for the DVM may be more efficient.

Important notes

Maple Leaf Veterinary Ultrasound provides ultrasound consultation directly to primary veterinarians and does not work directly the pet owner/client.  However, in the event of an unexpected change in plans (ie. need to collect fluid or aspirate a mass) and the primary DVM is not available, the ultrasonographer can call the client on your behalf to obtain authorization if permission is provided.