Unfortunately, we can’t always know the whole story of your pet’s health from just looking at the outside…sometimes we need to see what’s going on inside, too. Diagnostic testing can tell us more.
Types of diagnostic testing include:
Bloodwork: Bloodwork is powerful tool to assess red and white blood cells, along with platelets, and to determine liver and kidney function. Blood also accumulates information about the thyroid, the pancreas, the intestines, the spleen and all the other systems. The type of blood panel we run will depend on your pet’s age and current health status. Panels are also used to help monitor how pets are doing on various medications. Blood collection is simple, and we generally collect the blood sample with you present. Results are available within 24 hours in most cases. Blood tests provide outstanding value and contribute immensely to the overall health and wellness of your pet.
Urinalysis: Urinalysis helps us assess bladder and kidney health and may also give us information about the liver and other internal organs like the adrenal glands. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to learn about your pet’s internal organ function.
We are able to offer in-house results on blood and urine samples within minutes of collection to help us in managing your pet’s health. If there is a test required that we cannot do in our clinic, we will have the sample couriered to an external reference lab.
Radiology & Ultrasound: We utilize state of the art digital x-rays that render an image in seconds. These are a key tool to rapidly diagnose and address a variety of problems including: cancer, kidney stones, heart disease; and they are often essential in the evaluation of muscular-skeletal, heart, lung, gastrointestinal, reproductive and urinary systems. Ultrasound is an excellent complement to x-ray for viewing soft tissues such as the abdominal organs and certain structures within the chest.
Digital imaging makes it very easy to share with other experts to assist in diagnosis and interpretation. If our Veterinarians have questions or concerns about your pet’s radiographs, then we may ask to have them reviewed by a Board Certified Specialist in Radiology. This process takes only a few hours! In an emergency situation, we can have the Specialist interpretation in less than one hour!
Imaging doesn’t hurt and provides quick answers to many questions we may have. Very rarely do pets need sedation for x-rays – but if this is required, we will speak with you before proceeding with any sedation of your pet.
Endoscopy: Endoscopy is an amazing and minimally invasive way to see the body from the inside-out. It can be both a diagnostic and a treatment tool. We have numerous sized scopes for differing animals sizes to assist with diagnosing and treating many conditions.
Tonometry (eye pressure test): Tonometry helps us look for diseases such as glaucoma. If caught early enough, glaucoma and other eye conditions can be held at bay preventing serious problems that may otherwise result in blindness. In many of our patients (dogs and cats alike), we want to assess blood pressure to look for diseases such as high blood pressure (hypertension) that can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and even death. It’s a painless and simple test that saves lives.