Ultrasound Consent Form

I hereby certify that I am the owner or an authorized agent of the owner and am over the age of eighteen. Our goal is to provide a safe, stress-free experience for your pet while obtaining valuable diagnostics to develop an effective treatment plan. We will make sure your pet is comfortable during their stay and understand the stress of having them away from the family home for the day. In order to complete the ultrasound satisfactorily, please allow us to use our veterinary judgement and experience by consenting to the items below: I understand why the ultrasound has been recommended. I understand that this procedure will be performed at the end of morning appointments and we will not provide a specific time for this service; it will be performed once all morning appointments are complete, which varies day to day. I understand I cannot be present for the procedure. Creekside Animal Hospital will alert me once the procedure has been completed. Further, I do understand that the results may not be available on the same day the ultrasound is performed. I understand that the veterinarian in charge of my pet’s case will be contacting me as soon as possible. Ultrasonography is a non-invasive technique to image organs within the abdomen or chest. The area of my pet’s ultrasound will be shaved in order to allow adequate imaging. Minor irritation may occur to the skin as a consequence. Hair regrowth generally takes multiple weeks to occur, but can be more prolonged in certain pets. To enhance the ability of Creekside Animal Hospital to diagnose an abnormality found during the ultrasound examination, an ultrasound guided fine needle aspirate (FNA) may be performed. In these cases, an ultrasound is used to guide a small needle into a suspected area of abnormal tissue to obtain cells or tissue for submission to our outside laboratory for analysis. A small amount of bleeding is common with fine needle aspiration and/or biopsy, usually with no further consequences. Severe bleeding seldom occurs, but can rarely lead to serious complications requiring intervention. Therefore, these procedures will only be performed if required for proper diagnosis and treatment. In some cases Creekside Animal Hospital will perform clotting times prior to fine needle aspiration. Some problems are easily diagnosed via fine needle aspiration but others may not yield an answer via this technique. Cost of this sampling and testing is typically $177 but may be higher if multiple areas need to be sampled. My pet will be evaluated and monitored carefully by the veterinarian before, during, and after these procedures to minimize the risk of serious complications from occurring. Although rarely the case, my pet may need to be sedated to obtain a satisfactory quality diagnostic examination or to perform fine needle aspiration. Sedation, in rare instances can cause side effects such as a low or abnormal heart rate or breathing pattern. My pet will be monitored carefully by the team at Creekside Animal Hospital to minimize the risk of these complications from occurring. Please let us know before your pet is admitted if there are any additional problems or concerns that you would like the doctor to address while your pet is in the hospital.