Although Otay Vet Veterinary Clinic has used MRI for several years, the use of MRI scanning in veterinary medicine is quite recent but is becoming a more commonly used diagnostic procedure for treating pets.

Using a strong magnetic field, MRI provides a very clear and accurate image of parts of the body and allows us to look inside the various tissues. It is therefore a very useful non-invasive, non-traumatic method of obtaining an accurate picture of physical changes to various types of tissue in the body.

MRI itself has no side-effect, but in the case of veterinary patients, it does require a general anesthetic in order that the patient lies completely still while the scan is being performed. MRI scans are often used to examine the brain and spinal cord and, when doing so, we sometimes have to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF fluid) at the same time, or to inject a contrast medium intravenously to improve the clarity of the image obtained.

MRI has revolutionized our ability to diagnose and treat certain conditions which previously we had no way of identifying. Many patients have benefited from the better diagnosis and treatment we are now able to offer through the use of MRI.