Diagnostic Services
Radiographs
Radiographs, or X-rays, are one of the most common, useful diagnostic tools in medicine because of their ability to penetrate tissues and show your pet's organs and bones. At Hill Country Animal Hospital we use X-rays to examine your pet's bones, lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity and other areas, and for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. If we suspect your pet has a fractured bone, has swallowed a foreign object, or is suffering from a heart problem, an X-ray can tell us what we need to know.
The diagnostic capabilities offered by X-rays are an extremely important part of veterinary medicine, especially because we can't simply ask our patients what is wrong. Our investment in high-quality X-ray technology reflects our commitment to offer you and your pet the best, most comprehensive healthcare available.
Abdominal Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a painless, safe, non-invasive procedure we use to evaluate your pet's internal organs. It is one of the many ways we strive to give you peace of mind when it comes to your pet's health. Using sound waves, ultrasound produces a real-time moving picture of your pet's organs that allows us to visualize objects that cannot be detected by X-rays alone. One of the most important uses for ultrasound technology at Hill Country Animal Hospital is to observe your pet's abdominal organs, including the liver, stomach, spleen, pancreas, intestines, kidneys, bladder, uterus, and prostate.
The images produced allow our specially trained veterinarians to assess the shape size, tissue density, internal structure, and position of your pet's abdominal organs, as well as identify masses, tumors and abnormal lymph nodes.
The procedure can take between 30 to 60 minutes to perform and, unless it is being used during a surgical biopsy, does not typically require sedation. A diagnosis based on what we see is usually available immediately, which means we can also provide you with treatment options at the time of your appointment and minimize your worry and stress.
Echocardiography
An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of your pet's heart. Echocardiography is a standard non-invasive technique for assessing cardiac anatomy and function and diagnosing many types of heart problems. Because the heart is a complex organ, animals, like humans, can suffer from a wide variety of heart diseases. Using ultrasound, our highly trained veterinarians can watch your pet's heart in motion and measure each of its parts.
For moving organs like the heart, an echocardiogram is a valuable diagnostic tool. Ultrasound allows us to provide you with the most accurate diagnosis and best treatment options for your pet. It is one way we fulfill our promise to help your pet live the longest and healthiest life possible.
Echocardiography is a safe, painless procedure and generally takes about 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
In-House Laboratory
Hill Country Animal Hospital maintains a full-service diagnostic laboratory that allows us to perform complete blood counts, chemistry profiles, electrolytes, urinalysis, fecal exams, cytology evaluations, and other valuable tests for your pet. With our advanced laboratory technology, we can receive fast and accurate results, helping determine your pet's diagnosis and what treatment therapy is required.
Our complete in-house laboratory is particularly essential to our emergency and critical care cases. We also offer several tests as part of your pet's wellness exam and specialized testing if your pet is in his or her senior years. For many tests we can often have results within 15 minutes.