Mobile Vet Referrals

07/03/2025

A case from my North of England peripatetic medical service - mobilevetreferrals.com
Darcy is a beautiful female neutered Cocker Spaniel. Diagnosed at the referring practice (the excellent Dalehead Vets in Settle) with possible bladder neoplasia. The video sequence below shows a small bladder mass, but the main tumour bulk is in the proximal to mid urethra. The final part of the sequence shows some urethroscopy footage - the scope could not be advanced into the bladder, such was the occlusion of the lumen. The papillary appearance is characteristic, and biopsies confirmed urinary carcinoma/transitional cell carcinoma.
At the time of examination, no metastases were obvious. Various options have been discussed, ranging from NSAID/Cox-inhibitor treatment right through to onward referral for possible laser ablation if deemed practical. For now, fortnightly vinblastine with close monitoring has been elected, in the full knowledge that life (and quality of life) extension rather than cure is the goal.

02/10/2024

Once you get used to it, finding the adrenal glands becomes quite repeatable in dogs and cats. For example, the right adrenal gland is always tight to the Vena Cava. But sometimes you have to keep your wits about you. In the clips below, it would be easy to mistake the slightly chunky nearby LN for the adrenal, which is in fact a much more slender structure. The clip showing me doing a "tru-cut" biopsy of a large mid-abdominal node gives the case away a little......
You might think why I was obsessing about adrenal size with such other pathology present. This dog had a very low heart rate, and while we awaited electrolyte results, I was just checking adrenal size as a "screen" for possible hypoadrenocorticism-associated hyperkalemia (subsequently ruled out...)
I'm based in Leeds. If you are in the North of England, get in touch if you would like peripatetic ultrasound, or to have tricky medical cases worked up (I have 4 endoscopes, the latest model Esaote Omega EXP ultrasound scanner, and various other gadgetry) or if you would like tuition in endoscopy or ultrasound. Education and fun promised in equal measure.
www.mobilevetreferrals.com

19/08/2024

Just because a cough is low grade doesn't rule out a foreign body. History is everything. Fidget developed a cough immediately after running through a field of long grass. Luckily, her owner is Laura Keyser of Claro Hill Vets near Harrogate, superbly equipped with a CT scanner. It was such a luxury to visit this great new practice and to scope out the offending barley awn, already knowing which bronchus to explore!

04/07/2024

We all know to take orthogonal views when taking radiographs. The same applies to ultrasound (except a twist of the wrist gives us access to an infinite number of views!). In this video from a cat with weight loss and diarrhoea, we start with a disc-shaped lesion. We can see what may be gas centrally. However, rotating the probe 90 degrees demonstrates that this mass lesion is definitely of intestinal origin.

01/07/2024

Ultrasound images of gallbladder mucocoeles are commonly described as looking like cut kiwi fruit or pomegranates. However, beware of trying to rely too much on this image. Many mucocoeles do not correspond very accurately to that picture. In the video and images below, we have a large gall bladder; after several minutes the sediment is not settling with gravity, and a still image shows striations, a little like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. So, look for striations, a lack of settling sediment, and a lack of hypoechoic bile.

15/05/2024

After many years of 1st opinion and referral work, I am available for peripatetic diagnostic ultrasound, endoscopy, medical work-ups, and tuition in all these disciplines, across Yorkshire and further afield in the North of England. I'm fully equipped with 4 video-endoscopes, Esaote Omega EXP ultrasound, and lots of ancillary equipment. Message me, email, or call if you have any queries.
Laurence Doddy MVB CertSAM MRCVS
[email protected]
07894 400639
www.mobilevetreferrals.com

10/05/2024

I saw Henry last week, an old patient of mine, at the wonderful Bishopton Vets in Ripon. He had suffered from chronic pancreatitis and marked chronic enteropathy, with changes bordering lymphangectasia on endoscopic bowel biopsies. With a very low dose of prednisolone, and the trial of a second hypoallergenic diet, Henry's faeces and blood tests are now normal. Abdominal ultrasound showed resolution of the previous small intestinal mucosal streaking. As an aside, he had a newly discovered heart murmur. An echocardiogram showed mild mitral valve thickening, and inconsequential PV regurgitation. I do love the little red "candle-flame" sign of the latter. Maybe I need to get out more!

30/04/2024

Canine gastric neoplasia is seldom a good thing. Even lymphoma in this site responds very poorly to chemotherapy compared to other locations. So it's nice to have an exception sometimes - this is a leiomyoma in a 9 year old Bichon Frise that was fully resectable, with a very good prognosis.

Get in touch if you are in the North of England and are looking for peripatetic ultrasound and endoscopy services, or tuition in either.

16/04/2024

A typical example of a septate gall bladder in a cat - normal variant. Note also the acoustic reflection across the diaphragm. In addition to peripatetic ultrasound and endoscopy work, I am available to provide tuition to practices in the North of England - contact me with any queries at all.
[email protected]
07894 400639

18/03/2024

"Nice video" of urinary bladder calculi in Milly - an elderly cat. Unfortunately, limited permissions to take the case much further, but as an aside, there is marked hindlimb paresis. I suspect that incomplete voiding of urine due to neural compromise is a contributory factor to the stone formation. Diet is conventional, Milly is fed mixed "high end" wet and dry diets.

05/03/2024

Delilah is a very elderly feline, recently worked up with the great team at Sandbeck Veterinary Centre in Wetherby. She suffers with persistent weight loss and vomiting, with unremarkable bloods. Abdominal ultrasound showed a modestly thickened gastric lining, but no evidence of local lymphadenopathy. Biopsy results from the edge of the lesion so far suggest gastritis, ulceration, and foci of necrosis, but no neoplastic cells. Treatment ongoing, fingers crossed for Delilah going forward.

13/02/2024

13/02/2024

A recent ultrasound and upper GIT endoscopy was performed on the lovely but rather worried Parker. She was a case of chronic enteropathy that had responded poorly to diet changes and prednisolone. Thankfully, just moderate changes were seen on biopsy, so plenty of scope for treatment adjustments. I'm open for similar work anywhere in Yorkshire (but might even stray into Lancashire if asked nicely!)

08/02/2024

1st in an occasional series of ultrasound tips from my archive. Cranial abdominal major vessels -
I like to have the animal in dorsal recumbency, press firmly to find the aorta, note the adjacent CVC (essential for finding the R adrenal) then angle the probe medially to find the branching portal vein. Vessels are highlighted in that sequence on the video.

06/02/2024

The car loaded for today's activities. And there's more gear in the back - glad I didn't downsize the S-max.

04/02/2024

Nice example of a mucocoele in a small crossbreed dog. Central sediment but the mucosal striations are the clincher.

05/01/2024

After several years in full time referral practice, I have set up my own peripatetic service. I will provide mobile ultrasound, endoscopy, and other small animal medical procedures to practices in Yorkshire. Website and other social media links are in the pipeline - if I can be of assistance, email me on [email protected]