Case Study: Ultrasound - Tumour on the heart
Storm, an 11 year old male Boxer, had been slowly changing shape over the previous two or three months. His tummy had been slowly swelling over this time, although his appetite had remained good and he had continued to be relatively active. Over the last few days, however, he had developed a soft cough and had started to go off his food. Storm's owners took him to their veterinary surgeons who were concerned that his abdomen (tummy) was filling with fluid (ascites) and they referred him to one of Willows' Internal Medicine Specialist team for further evaluation.
Our Medical Specialists were able to confirm that the cause of his abdominal swelling was indeed ascites, and initial investigations pointed towards his heart as the likely cause of the problem. Echocardiography (an examination of the heart using ultrasound) was performed by one of our Diagnostic Imaging Specialists and this identified a tumour (a growth) on the heart that was affecting heart function, resulting in the fluid retention. Unfortunately the tumour was inoperable and further treatment could only be aimed at reducing the fluid build-up in Storm's abdomen and making him as comfortable as possible. Sadly, Storm passed away at home two months later.
This echocardiography image of the heart shows three of the four chambers of the heart (the left ventricle, right ventricle and the right atrium), a small amount of fluid within the sac around the heart, the main blood vessel leaving the left heart (the aorta), and the tumour on the base of the heart.
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