CT Examination of Three Symptomatic Wild Seals

Seals are wild animals and are, therefore, rarely brought to vets when they are sick. One exception from this is seen at seal sanctuaries, which administer medical care to sick or young stranded seals that have been rescued and admitted. An example of this is the nonprofit organization, A-Seal, in Stellendam, the Netherlands. This organization rescues and rehabilitates seals that have been stranded along the nearby Dutch coastline. These seals are often pups that have been separated from their mothers, but they can also be young or adult seals that are sick or injured. When treatment and rehabilitation are successful and complete, the seals are released back into the wild.

Veterinarians face various challenges when they examine wild seals because they are often not cooperative. Other practical problems are encountered due to seals’ stocky build and thick layer of blubber, which can make manual examination difficult, especially of the spine, limbs or joints. In cases of a suspected ear problem, otoscopy can also be very difficult to perform, as seals have a very narrow external auditory canal.

To overcome some of these problems, radiographic examinations are often carried out in rehabilitation centers, mainly of bony structures and the lungs. However, in some patients a CT scan can be a quick and non-invasive way to obtain additional and more detailed information.

Explore a series of clinical cases in this article that highlight the crucial role of CT scanning in wildlife care. Discover how CT imaging reveals anatomical details that plain radiography misses. Read the full article here