Results suggest that medical and surgical management of ureteral calculi in cats are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Treatment can stabilize renal function, although many surviving cats will continue to have impaired renal function.

Results suggest that abdominal imaging should be performed in all cats with chronic nonspecific signs or with acute or chronic renal failure to rule out ureterolithiasis. Preexisting renal disease may be common in cats with ureteral calculi.

Localized tumor implantation of the ventral abdominal wall was found at 2, 5, and 8 months following percutaneous ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of transitional carcinoma of the bladder, urethra, or prostate in 3 dogs. To our knowledge this complication has not been reported in dogs following FNAB. Despite the rarity of needle-tract implantation, the potential for this complication with transitional cell carcinomas is apparently not negligible and warrants consideration. We recommend traumatic urethral catheterization to obtain a cytologic diagnosis of potential transitional cell carcinomas of the lower urinary tract or prostate whenever possible until more information becomes available. However, needle-track implantation is so rare that it should not influence the decision to perform a percutaneous FNAB if the urethra cannot be catheterized.

The normal sonographic appearance of stomach, small bowel, and colon was determined in normal dogs of small, medium, and large breeds. In all dogs studied, the stomach wall ranged from 3 mm to 5 mm in thickness, and the small and large bowel wall ranged from 2 mm to 3 mm in thickness. Peristalsis was routinely observed in the sto-mach and small bowel, but not in the colon. Ultrasonic identification of five gastrointestinal wall layers corresponding to the mucosal surface, mucosa, submucosa, muscularis propria, and subserosa/serosa was possible. Specific segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract were isolated and scanned in a water bath. In one dog, ultrasonic and histologic fmdings were compared and confirmed the anatomical identification found with ultrasound. Similarities and differences between the ultrasonic appearance of the GI tract of humans and small animals are discussed.

Portal blood flow was measured with duplex Doppler ultrasound in ten normal dogs and in ten dogs with hepatic cirrhosis induced by common bile duct ligation 4 weeks previously. Mean portal blood flow velocity in the 10 dogs with experimentally induced hepatic cirrhosis was markedly reduced (9.2 ± 1.70 cm/sec vs. normal 18.1 ± 7.6 cm/sec, p < 0.01). Mean portal blood flow was also significantly decreased compared to normal (17.2 ± 4.9 cc/min/kg versus normal 31.06 ± 9.1 cc/min/kg, p < 0.01) while portal vein diameter remained unchanged. The dogs with induced hepatic cirrhosis developed extensive extrahepatic portosystemic shunting that was confirmed at necropsy. It was concluded that decreased portal velocity and portal flow which resulted from hepatic cirrhosis was detectable noninvasively with Doppler ultrasound.

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Sonographic findings of 18 dogs and four cats with gastrointestinal (GI) diseases were reviewed. Wall thickness, wall layer identification, wall symmetry, extension of the lesion, nature of the GI contents, motility, and regional and/or systemic involvement were recorded for each animal. Ultrasonographic appearance of gastrointestinal neoplasms, gastrointestinal obstruction, ileus, intussusception, inflammatory GI diseases, and congenital disorders are discussed.