Voor spoed zijn wij 24 uur per dag bereikbaar op 0162 - 748062 | Contact

Voor spoed zijn wij 24 uur
per dag bereikbaar op
0162 - 748062 | Contact

Examinations

Our Equine hospital serves as a regional referral center for many practices and is well known for the implementation of the latest treatments and diagnostic techniques in equine medicine. The hospital has diagnostic imaging capabilities that include digital radiography, high resolution ultrasound, nuclear scintigraphy and contrast enhanced computed tomography. These techniques are used on a daily basis for diagnosing locomotor pathology.

Next to that we also offer well equipped intensive care and quarantine stables. In our clinic we also have a in-house farriery, with a very experienced farrier that specializes in orthopedic shoeing. We also have an in-house dentistry with three experienced horse dentists.

Diagnostic Imaging

It is not always possible, based on the physical examination alone, to make a correct diagnosis. Further examination can be necessary to come to a solid diagnosis. At Lingehoeve we have the possibility to examine a horse by radiography, ultrasound, CT, scintigraphy and endoscopy and we have facilities for hospitalization of the patient if needed.

CT Scan

Lingehoeve Diergeneeskunde is one of the few veterinary clinics in the Netherlands who has a CT scan. This device can not only be used for cats and dogs but for horses as well. A CT scan gives us the opportunity to form a very precise image in less than 15 minutes.

Computed Tomography is also known as Computed Axial Tomography (CAT scan) or CT scan. As all digital imaging techniques the CT machine has known a very quick development these last few years. Making this technique manageable for horses has brought Lingehoeve Diergeneeskunde to be one of the first veterinary clinics to apply this technique in horses and therefore was able to diagnose pathologies in horses that could not to be imaged in the past.

How does a CT work?

A CT scanner makes, circulating around the object, a massive amount of radiographic images. In contrast to radiographs where everything is printed in a flat surface, these CT images make cross sections through the body. Due to the special computer program the object can be seen in a 3-dimensional way and so examined from all different angles. One image is made in only a few seconds and the scan of for example a whole stifle of a horse takes less than 15 minutes. Because of the 3-dimensional imaging this technique has no super positioning as in normal radiographs, which makes an accurate diagnosis easier and more straightforward.

In horses this technique is not only used in lameness examinations but also in diagnosing anomalies  in the head of the horse for example dental or sinus pathologies. The cervical vertebras are in reach of the CT. With our new CT all of the vertebra including the most common affected C67 can be exposed.

Endoscopy

With endoscopy we can literally visualize the inside of your horse. ‘Endo’ means ‘in’ and ‘scopie’ means ‘looking’. An endoscope is an instrument that looks like a rubber hose. There is a camera at the end of the hose. The endoscope is brought into the patient to view or even treat, for example, the intestines or the stomach. Different organ systems can be assessed. Lingehoeve Diergeneeskunde has endoscopes with various lengths and different diameters. The horse’s breathing apparatus can be viewed from the nose to the bifurcation at the left and right side of the lung. In addition, a trip can be made to the air pockets. The digestion tract, in particular the oesophagus, stomach and beginning of the small intestines, can be visualized as well. In bladder or urinary tract problems, we can view the final part of the trajectory (urethra and bladder) with a thinner endoscope. A very thin scope is used to view the sinussen of the horse. This technique can be used on the standing horse and is non invasive from the inside or invasive through the skull.

Radiography

An X-ray machine can make radiographic pictures of the inside of the body using X-rays. Because of their high penetrating ability this technique is commonly used to look at the bones, but other parts of the body such as the longs can also be imaged using this technique. Nowadays radiographic examination has made huge progress introducing digital radiography. Images can be magnified, contrast can be enhanced or diminished and information can be exchanged quickly and easily by computer.

Applications of radiographic examination
This technique is most often used in the orthopedic examination, we can image fractures, osteoarthrosis, deviations in alignment of the bones, bone cysts, …all causes of lameness in horses. Radiology can also be used to image the skull and look at the teeth. When examination of the respiratory tract is needed radiographs can be made to image the lungs and trachea. Because this technique puts all information in one plane, multiple radiographs taken in different angles are necessary to get to an accurate diagnosis. In most cases one picture is not sufficient. In a prepurchase examination a standardized set of radiographs is made according to the wishes of the buyer and the discipline of the horse (see prepurchase examination).

Scintigraphy

In nuclear diagnostics or scintigraphy radioactive material is injected into the horse and a scanner is used to look for areas with increased radiopharmaceutical capture of the radiation. Most commonly these are areas which consist of inflamed or damaged tissue and therefore capture more radioactive material than healthy tissue. Scintigraphy is mostly used for areas of the horse of which we cannot make X-rays or ultrasound images or when the veterinarian is not certain where the painful area is located. This technique offers a lot of possibilities and advantages in the orthopedic examination, even the smallest bone change of 2% can be found using this technique. This is in contrast to radiographs which can only determine a change in the bone of more than 40%. This is why scintigraphy is also used as a screening method for early pathologies.

How does scintigraphy work?
If possible the horse is lunged before the radioactive material is injected in order to enhance the blood flow in the horse’s legs. This is necessary to make sure that the radioactive material is well absorbed into the whole body. After lunging the legs are wrapped and the feet are placed in hoof sacs to make sure there is no contamination by urine or feces. Subsequently the horse is injected with the radioactive material. After that the horse is put in a stable for 2 hours to let the radioactive material be distributed throughout the whole body.

Before entering the examination room the horse is sedated slightly and hoof sacks and bandages are removed.

A scan can be made of the complete horse or only a part of the horse such as the head or the hind legs and the back of the horse, it is also possible to scan just a very small part of the horse when a control scan is performed as an evaluation after certain therapy.

The areas that need to be examined are scanned for one minute in which the horse must stand perfectly still. In contrast to radiographic examination scintigraphy gives us information about the present state of the body not the past.

All scintigraphic images made at Lingehoeve Diergeneeskunde are sent to the United States the same day. They are studied by Prof. P. Steyn who is a certified American radiologist specialized in scintigraphy. The next morning the final results are available at Lingehoeve Diergeneeskunde and the client is being notified with a complete report.

In the mean time the horse has to stay quarantined at the clinic for 2 to 3 days to make sure there is no residual radiation when the animal is going home.

Depending on the diagnostic findings additional examination by radiographs or ultrasound may be necessary. When the final report is given to the owner our veterinarians will discuss all possibilities regarding treatment, rehabilitation and customized shoeing. In the event of a referral the referring veterinarian will also get the scintigraphy report so that further treatment can be done at home by the owner’s own veterinarian.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a technique that uses sonographic waves witch are not audible by the human ear. The device is put on the skin of the horse and emits its waves. The returned waves or echo’s are captured by the machine and are translated into an image on the screen by the computer. These sonographic waves are completely harmless for humans and animals and can be used safely to image tendon, ligaments, joints  and bone surfaces.

Ultrasound from the shoulder

Ultrasound is a very sensitive technique used to diagnose all sorts of soft tissue lesions mostly in association with a lameness examination in horses. Bony structures cannot be penetrated by ultrasound waves, but the bone surface can be seen in detail even more sensitive than radiographs and this is very helpful in diagnosing a lesion at its attachment to the bone.
This technique can also be very valuable in the examination of the abdomen in horses and foals suffering from colic. Even the chest cavity can be imaged using ultrasound, for instance in coughing foals.

Ultrasound is indispensable in the gynecological exam of the uterus, cervix and ovaries. The technique can be used in every routine examination of a mare but also for mares with problems getting pregnant. You can also use the transabdominal approach to image the unborn foal.

Ultrasound is a technique which is easy to use and indispensable in the daily veterinary practice.

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