My dog's x-ray shows a spot. Is it normal gas, even if vet says fine?

We can't often see tumors in the stomach on x-rays because they blend in with the surrounding tissues. Black areas on x-rays are often pockets of gas, which may be normal. I would recommend asking your vet what you are seeing on the x-rays.

This an x-ray focused on the caudal abdomen. As far as I can see there is moderate distension of the last part of the intestine (colon) which is filled with feces and gas. There are no other abnormalities and the radiopacity on the ventro-dorsal view is due to an artifact rather than an actual abnormality.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like your veterinarian is suspecting that Delilah has a liver mass, or tumor, and that the liver overall is larger than normal. This causes the stomach to be displaced, or pushed backward farther than normal. The GB is the gallbladder (an organ near the liver that stores bile), and a cholelith is a stone in the gallbladder, or a gallstone. A round heart can be seen on chest x-rays when there is underlying heart disease. Older small breed dogs such as Chihuahuas are at increased risk of mitral valve disease, which is a degenerative disease of one of the heart valves. This can result in blood leaking backwards in the heart, causing dilation of some of the heart chambers. Often a heart murmur is heard with this disease. An echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) is needed to definitively diagnose this. I hope this interpretation is helpful!

Without seeing the x-ray it is hard to say. On x-rays all black areas are air, white areas are bone/metal and gray areas are soft tissue structures or non-radiopaque objects. A tumor, hair or grass would all look similar. Dogs almost never have hairballs. A lump of grass would not make it all the way to the colon as it would be digested before it got there. If there is a lump inside the colon or around the outside of the colon then it is most likely cancer however, it could be a hernia, an enlarged lymph node or other soft tissue structure. I cannot tell you without seeing the x-ray. If you do not trust the vet's interpretation then I suggest you get a second opinion from another vet. You can take the x-rays with you for them to review. Also, most vets have a board certified radiologist they can x-rays to for review. You can always ask your vet to do that for you as a second opinion.

I don’t think the heart looks terribly enlarged, maybe on the big side of normal. Ask the vet who took the rads if they are able to submit them to a radiologist for review. (A radiologist is a vet who spent at least 3 additional years to do a residency to specialize and study only imaging. Their expertise is really valuable in cases that are not clear cut and obvious.) If his lab work is all normal, and a radiologist is concerned about the appearance of the heart, then it’s logical to seek out an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) by a veterinary cardiologist. If a radiologist does NOT think the heart looks questionable, and Boo’s lab work is all normal, it might be worth considering an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly) to see if there are any abnormalities there (enlarged lymph nodes, abnormal spleen, any abnormality in GI or urinary tract, etc). I hope that’s helpful, sorry there is no easy clear cut answer. Interpreting X-rays is like looking at 1 piece of a puzzle. History and clinical signs, physical exam, lab work, and other imaging all tie in to the bigger picture. If you would like to have a consult, I may be able to help you further with more information, and would do my best to help point you in the right direction. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! An official diagnosis requires at least 2 view radiographs. However, this 1 view definitely looks consistent with a GDV and warrants a veterinary evaluation as soon as possible. Best of luck!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Looking at x-rays that are not viewed with a proper screen can be very difficult, so it can be easy to miss things on these images. I can see the following: 1. The heart does NOT appear to be enlarged 2. The lungs have a slight increased opacity around the peri-hilar region (this can sometimes be associated with heart disease) 3. There is poor detail in the abdomen (this could be due to 'chest settings' and not actually 'real') 4. There is some discospondylosis present in the lumbar vertebrae (bridging between two vertebrae- likely inconsequential) 5. There is no sign of free fluid or free gas in the chest cavity 6. On the second image there is some gas in the esophagus, but this might be artifact of being sedated. 7. On the second image the lungs seem more 'white' then they should be, in the caudo-dorsal region. I recommend that if you are still unsure, have the x-rays sent to a radiologist specialist, as they will get a format they can better manipulate and give you better information about the lung parenchyma (tissue itself of the lungs) which is very hard to evaluate with the images you have provided. I don't see anything too remarkable in these x-rays. If you tell us what is clinically wrong with George we can look at the images again with his clinical picture in mind. Best of luck with George!