Arthroscope
Our veterinary arthroscopy service offers a cutting-edge approach to diagnosing and treating joint issues that can’t be diagnosed with an X-ray.
What is Veterinary Arthroscopy?
Veterinary arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that allows us to visualise, diagnose, and treat joint problems using a camera (arthroscope) inserted through a small incision. This technique provides a clearer, more precise view of the joint’s interior, allowing our veterinarians to assess damage and perform repairs with minimal disruption to surrounding tissues.
Arthroscopy is commonly used for diagnosing and treating conditions in the stifle (knee), shoulders and elbows.
Why choose Arthroscopy for your pet?
- Minimally Invasive: Unlike traditional open surgery, arthroscopy requires only small incisions, which reduces the risk of infection, minimises pain, and promotes faster healing.
- Faster Recovery Time: Because the procedure is less traumatic to surrounding tissues, your pet can recover more quickly and experience less postoperative discomfort.
- Accurate Diagnosis & Treatment: Arthroscopy allows our veterinary surgeons to directly view the joint structures, making it easier to diagnose problems accurately and in some cases treat.
- Improved Outcomes: With its minimally invasive nature, arthroscopy often leads to better long-term outcomes, including improved joint function and reduced pain.
When is Veterinary Arthroscopy Recommended?
Arthroscopy is an excellent option for pets with joint problems that require both diagnosis and treatment. Some of the conditions we commonly treat with arthroscopy include:
- Diagnosis of shoulder injuries; such as medial glenohumeral ligament injuries, OCD, biceps tendonopathies
- Partial or full cruciate rupture
- Meniscal Tear
- Treatment of fractured coronoid process
How Does Veterinary Arthroscopy Work?
- Deciding on Arthroscope: Before the procedure, your pet will undergo a thorough examination, including imaging studies like X-rays, to determine if arthroscopy is the best treatment option and the rule out the possible causes
- Pre-Procedure: Your pet will require a full general anaesthetic, the affected joints will be shaved and surgically prepped
- The Procedure: Using a small incision, we insert the arthroscope into the joint, allowing us to view the area on a screen. Additional instruments may be used through another incision to repair or clean the joint.
Please contact the clinic to book in a veterinary examination to find out if this is the correct form of diagnostic imaging and or treatment for your pet.
Common uses for Veterinary Fluoroscopy
- Most commonly utilised to perform a swallow study to assess food actively passing down the oesophagus
- Fluoroscopy can also assist in surgical procedures to view real time imaging in orthopaedics to allow for accurate implant placement
How does Veterinary Fluoroscopy work?
During a fluoroscopic procedure, your pet will be positioned under the fluoroscope, which emits a low dose of X-rays while capturing moving images. This allows our team to view the body in motion, such as how joints are moving, the swallowing process, or how organs are functioning.
Fluoroscopy is typically used for both diagnostic purposes and to guide certain treatments, making it an essential tool for precise, up-to-the-minute insights into your pet’s health.
Please contact the clinic to book in a veterinary examination to find out if this is the correct form of diagnostic imaging for your pet.
Gait Analysis
At VVRC, we are very fortunate to have a GAIT4Dog quadruped gait analysis system. This enables us to assess temporal-spatial gait, allowing detailed diagnosis of potential lameness.
It is also utilised following any orthopedic surgery and regenerative medicine treatments to track a patient’s recovery progress.
MRI & CT
Veterinary CT (Computed Tomography) provide 3D images of your pet’s internal structures—helping us diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions. CT imaging uses a series of rapidly taken X-rays from multiple angles which are processed and reconstructed via complex computing to create 3D images that can be viewed by any angle.
Conditions We Can Diagnose with Veterinary CT
- Fractures: CT scanning helps us assess complex bone fractures, trauma-related injuries with high precision
- Tumours: Early detection of cancers in organs, bones, or soft tissues is possible with detailed CT imaging
- Neurological Conditions: For pets with neurological symptoms, CT scanning can help identify spinal cord issues such as herniated discs
- Middle Ears Changes
- Heart & Lung Disorders: CT is invaluable for diagnosing lung conditions, heart diseases, and vascular abnormalities that may be difficult to identify with other imaging techniques
Veterinary MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses a powerful magnetic field and specially designed coils to produce high-resolution images of your pet’s organs, soft tissues, and bones. It’s one of the most advanced diagnostic tools available in veterinary medicine, enabling us to identify a wide range of conditions.
Why Choose Veterinary MRI?
- No Radiation: unlike CT or X-rays, MRI does not require radiation to capture images
- Exceptional Soft Tissue Imaging: along with Musculoskeletal ultrasound MRI is one of the gold standards for imaging soft tissues, providing the clearest view of the brain, spinal cord, muscles, ligaments, and internal organs.
- Accurate Diagnosis: With MRI, we can diagnose a variety of conditions such as tumours, spinal cord injuries, joint problems, and neurological disorders.
- Safe & Reliable: MRI is a safe, reliable imaging method that allows us to diagnose complex conditions early and provides the best information to form a treatment plan.
Common Conditions We Diagnose with MRI
- Neurological Disorders: MRI is essential for diagnosing conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord, such as intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), brain lesions, tumours and degenerative diseases.
- Musculoskeletal Issues: MRI allows us to assess the soft tissues surrounding joints, such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles, helping us diagnose injuries or conditions like torn ligaments, tendonitis, or arthritis.
- Tumours & Cancer: MRI is highly effective in detecting tumours in organs, soft tissues, and bones.
The Veterinary MRI Process
- Consultation & Evaluation: After a thorough examination, we may recommend an MRI scan to get a clearer picture of your pet’s condition.
- Preparation: Your pet will require a general anaesthetic for the scan to remain perfectly still as to not affect the image with movement and will be monitored full time throughout the procedure.
- MRI Scan: The machine produces a series of magnetic pulses that create detailed images of their body. The procedure is painless and typically takes 60 to 90 minutes.
- Analysis & Results: After the scan, the MRI images are sent off to be read by specialists who will then provide us with a report to design a treatment plan appropriate for your pet
VVRC does have CT and MRI machines in-house, which we use for much of our diagnostic imaging. Sometimes a more complex CT or MRI scan is required, where we may refer you to one of our partners on an outpatient basis. Please contact the clinic to book in a veterinary examination to find out if this is the correct form of diagnostic imaging for your pet.
The Process:
The process is simple and painless. Your pet will be positioned on an X-ray table, and we will take one or more images depending on the area of concern. In most cases, pets will receive a sedation or general anaesthetic to ensure they remain still to get the best possible image and reduce stress on your pet. X-rays are a form of radiation; so it is always a priority to plan and execute radiographs effectively to minimise radiation exposure to your pet and the staff performing them.
Once the X-rays are taken, our veterinarians will carefully review the images to make an assessment of the next steps and discuss the best options for your pet’s treatment.
Please contact the clinic to book in a veterinary examination to find out if this is the correct form of diagnostic imaging for your pet.
