Radiology

Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging at Cerro Alto

Veterinary radiology is a specialty that uses medical imaging technology to diagnose and, in some cases, treat diseases and injuries in animals. It’s an indispensable part of the modern veterinarian’s toolkit because it enables us to see inside your pet’s body and find answers.

While many general-practice veterinarians offer routine x-rays or ultrasound, they often turn to board-certified radiology specialists, especially when reading the imaging results. That’s because the signs of disease in diagnostic images can be subtle and it requires significant expertise and experience to interpret them accurately and guide appropriate treatment.

At Cerro Alto, we have board-certified veterinary radiologists on staff—specialists who have completed additional training to interpret medical images and diagnose diseases in animals. We’ve also invested in some of today’s most advanced diagnostic imaging technology. This gives your pet local access to a level of care that’s simply not available anyplace else in San Luis Obispo County.

The veterinary radiology services we offer

We offer an array of medical imaging modalities to help diagnose and, sometimes, treat diseases and injuries in pets:

X-rays (radiography): We use digital x-rays to diagnose and help plan treatment for a wide range of issues such as broken bones, foreign objects or obstructions in the digestive tract, pneumonia, arthritis, or bladder stones.
Ultrasound: This technique uses sound waves that are directed into your pet’s body then bounce back to the ultrasound machine, forming an image. It’s effective for visualizing soft tissues and organs, making it useful for assessing abdominal organs, the heart (echocardiogram), blood vessels, muscles and ligaments, or animals in utero (in the womb).
Fluoroscopy: This imaging modality is a type of x-ray that shows organs or other internal structures moving in real time. While regular x-rays provide a snapshot, fluoroscopy is like a movie.
CT (computed tomography) scan: This is an x-ray technique that produces high-resolution images of the body’s internal structures in cross-sectional “slices” instead of the 2-dimensional images produced by regular x-rays. Our 128-slice CT scanner not only is extremely precise but also very fast, enabling us to usually perform outpatient imaging without using general anesthesia, only mild sedation.
CT angiography: This specialized imaging technique combines a CT scan with the injection of a contrast dye to visualize blood vessels and tissues in detail. It’s useful for diagnosing conditions affecting the circulatory system including vascular abnormalities, blood clots and tumors.
Interventional radiology procedures: Our board-certified radiologist has advanced training in using imaging to guide procedures such as biopsies, fine-needle aspiration, and placing tracheal (windpipe) and urethral stents (hollow tubes inserted to help keep the windpipe or urethra open and prevent collapse), improving the accuracy and precision of these procedures.

To schedule an outpatient radiology exam

It’s easy. Simply call us at (805) 457-8724. Please note that a referral from your primary care veterinarian is necessary.

Referring veterinarians: All veterinary radiology services are available on an outpatient basis. If you have any questions about the most appropriate imaging modality for your patient, please call to speak with one of our board-certified radiologists.