From June 2025 we are pleased to be able to offer CT scans for pets in Torquay. This is a big investment in local pet care, and a service for which previously pets would need to be referred outside of Torbay.
Many of you will be familiar with CT scans in human medicine, where they are very much routine. CT combines x-ray and computing technology to generate images of inside the body, and has a number of uses in veterinary medicine:
- Neurology e.g. diagnosis of brain tumours, spinal disc extrusion.
- Investigation of chronic sneezing or nosebleeds by imaging of the nasal cavity (often alongside endoscopy – putting a small camera inside the nose).
- Investigation of middle and inner ear disease.
- Investigation of airway or lung disease e.g. coughing. This may be alongside endoscopy (putting a camera into the airways), and sampling.
- Assessment of patients with cancer – looking for tumours; looking for evidence of spread to the lungs or other organs; and assessing viability for surgical removal of a tumour.
- Looking for blood vessel abnormalities e.g. shunts affecting the liver (portosystemic shunt).
- Investigation of lameness, particularly disease of the joints.
Unlike humans, pets do need to be sedated or anaesthetised to safely perform a CT scan, but it is usually done as a short ‘day patient’ procedure.
Pricing:
CT scan of one body area – £1250
Additional body areas £300 each
This includes the sedation/anaesthesia, day rate of hospitalisation, acquiring the images and interpretation by specialist radiologists at VET.CT. Urgent surcharges are incurred for emergency interpretation times.