Diagnostic Services
Laboratory Testing
Since your sick pet cannot tell us what is wrong, veterinarians must sometimes supplement physical exams with sophisticated diagnostic testing. Our hospital is equipped with a complete in-house laboratory that allows us to measure more than 100 laboratory values, with results often available in a few minutes. In addition, we work with several outside referral labs if your pet requires specialized testing.
Radiographs (X-Rays)
Radiographs (x-rays) are extremely helpful for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. X-rays are useful in examining your pet's bones, lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity and other areas. An x-ray can spot a fractured bone, detect cancerous tumors, diagnose heartworm disease and locate an obstruction or foreign body in your pet's stomach. When used in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures like ultrasound, x-rays can accurately diagnose problems, making surgery your pet's surgery less traumatic and complicated.
We have recently purchased a new, state-of-the-art, digital radiography unit. Compared to x-rays produced by a traditional machine, the quality of digital radiographs is much better. The time spent taking your pets' radiographs is significantly shortened and fewer pictures are needed to achieve diagnostic-quality results.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a valuable, non-invasive imaging procedure that complements x-rays and allows our veterinarians to better visualize internal organs in the chest and abdomen. During an ultrasound, high-frequency sound-waves are directed into the body and bounce off the organs, creating a computer image of the inside of the body. This painless diagnostic technique is normally done without sedation of your pet.
Ultrasound is invaluable for making treatment decisions for various types of heart disease. It also allows us to biopsy organs such as the liver and kidney through a tiny "keyhole" incision. Ultrasound works best in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures. For example, if an x-ray detects a lesion, an ultrasound can determine the origin of the lesion and whether it has spread elsewhere in your pet's body. Using the ultrasound image as a guide, surgical biopsies can be obtained without major surgery and your pet can often go home the same day.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy means "looking inside" and refers to looking inside the body for medical purposes. The instrument used for this procedure is called an endoscope.
Endoscopy is a minimally invasive, diagnostic, medical procedure commonly used to evaluate the interior surfaces of an organ by inserting a small tube into the body. Through the endoscope, the observer is able to view lesions on organs and other internal medical conditions.
In veterinary medicine, endoscopy is commonly used as a diagnostic procedure for tissue and organ biopsies, to remove foreign objects (particularly in the stomach) or get an inside view of a particular part of your pet's body. Even though anesthesia is required to keep your pet still during the endoscopic procedure, the amount of anesthesia and recovery time is greatly reduced. Endoscopy is often indicated when routine blood and urine tests, radiographs and ultrasound do not give the complete diagnostic picture.
The endoscope is composed of a long tube (flexible or rigid), a light source, camera and viewing eyepiece. In addition to the fiber optic light source, there are two channels within in the tube. One channel is for passing forceps, snares or biopsy instruments, allowing for the removal of foreign objects, collection of biopsy samples and removal of small polyps or tumors. Air or water can be passed through the other channel for better viewing of the tissue or organ. Compared to traditional surgery, the benefits of endoscopy include shortened anesthesia time, decreased inflammation, less physiologic stress and discomfort and an earlier return to normal function. Even though general anesthesia is required for an endoscopic procedure, it is still considered much less invasive than traditional surgery due to the relatively short procedure time and low occurrence of complications.