Diagnostic Services
Our In-House Medical And Diagnostic Laboratory
When performing routine wellness examinations or diagnosing an illness, what our veterinarians can't see may be more important than what they can see.
Our hospital is well equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic technology that helps our doctors obtain a diagnosis quickly and assess your pet's progress. We can perform a complete blood count (CBC), blood chemistry profiles, and electrolytes within a matter of minutes. This information is vital in an emergency or in the case of a seriously ill animal.
We can also test for the presence of tick-borne diseases—Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis—during an office visit. We can determine whether patients are carrying the feline leukemia virus or the feline immunosuppressive virus (FIV), and we screen for Giardia, a protozoan that has human health implications.
We offer a full range of clinical pathology services, including urine analysis, fecal analysis, bacterial and fungal cultures, and basic cytology. We work with a number of outside laboratories when in-depth testing is required.
Digital Radiology
Radiographs, or X-rays, are one of the useful and non-invasive diagnostic tools in medicine. The doctors at the Community Animal Hospital use radiography to evaluate your pet's bones, heart, lungs, and abdominal organs and to diagnose and monitor many medical conditions.
Through the use of a sophisticated digital radiography system, we can take high-resolution images that aid in the diagnosis of a wide range of ailments. There are many important advantages to digital X-rays:
- They can be immediately viewed on a computer monitor.
- The clear, detailed images can be manipulated to get a better view of your pet's bones and internal organs, leading to a faster, more accurate diagnosis.
- They take less time to process, which means less time for your pet on the X-ray table (and less stress), and less waiting time for you.
- No harsh chemicals are needed to develop the images, reducing potential harm to our staff and the environment.
- If a second opinion is necessary, digital X-rays can be sent by email to a board-certified veterinary radiologist.
In a recent AAHA evaluation, our hospital was commended for its excellence in radiographic technique. We use radiology to diagnose everything from broken bones to heart disease. Special procedures such as a barium series help us to evaluate your pet's gastrointestinal tract and detect problems, such as a foreign object creating as obstruction. We also use radiology to evaluate dogs for hip and elbow dysplasia. The radiographs are submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) for those patients seeking certification.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a painless, safe, non-invasive procedure that produces a real-time moving picture of your pet's organs, allowing your veterinarian to visualize objects that cannot be detected by X-rays alone. It is one of the many ways we strive to give you peace of mind when it comes to your pet's health.
Our veterinarians use ultrasound to assess the shape, size, tissue density, internal structure and position of your pet's abdominal organs, assess cardiac health, and diagnose pregnancy. It can also be used to identify masses or tumors and as a guide during surgical biopsies.
The ultrasound procedure takes between 30 to 60 minutes to perform and, unless it is being used during a surgical biopsy, does not typically require sedation. A diagnosis based on what we see is usually available immediately, which means we can also provide you with treatment options at the time of your appointment and minimize your worry and stress.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure, performed on an anesthetized patient, which has great diagnostic and therapeutic value. We use endoscopy to evaluate the stomach and intestinal tract, and we can take a biopsy of any abnormal tissue that we visualize. We have been able to diagnose, and in some cases, remove foreign material in the stomach, thus avoiding the need for surgery.
Glaucoma Prevention
Glaucoma is a common condition in which the fluid pressure inside the eye increases, resulting in damage to the optic nerve, followed by loss of vision and blindness. There are two types of glaucoma. Primary or chronic glaucoma is hereditary and develops as your pet ages. Secondary or acute glaucoma develops as the result of an injury or illness. Because secondary glaucoma can progress rapidly, it is considered an emergency situation.
Symptoms of glaucoma include:
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Your veterinarian recommends a routine glaucoma exam as part of your pet's regular wellness care. The exam is not only an effective screening measure for chronic and acute glaucoma, it can also help set a baseline measurement of your pet's normal intraocular pressure (IOP). Establishing an IOP baseline is important because the normal measurement can vary between species, breeds, and even individual pets. This is a noninvasive, simple procedure that should not cause your pet any pain or discomfort.
Electrocardiography
An electrocardiograph (ECG) is a painless, non-invasive recording of the electrical impulses generated when your pet's heart beats. ECGs are helpful in characterizing numerous types of irregular heartbeats, as well as a handful of other cardiac conditions that cannot be diagnosed with a stethoscope during a regular physical examination.
An ECG is a completely noninvasive, painless procedure that involves placing several electrodes on your pet's skin. The small electrical impulses normally generated by the heart are amplified 3,000 or more times and recorded by the ECG machine. If we notice any abnormalities, we explain them to you and advise you on the next steps.
Our doctors routinely perform and interpret electrocardiograms on site. We use your pet's ECG results to help us diagnose and treat heart disease and detect arrhythmias that could be life-threatening.
Blood Pressure Monitoring
Hypertension can seriously affect the health of your dog or cat; fortunately, it is a very treatable disease. Early detection is important, so we are now screening for high blood pressure in all our senior pet wellness examinations. Although it sometimes takes patience, getting a blood pressure measurement is a painless procedure.
Hypertension is often associated with kidney disease and hyperthyroidism in cats, and with kidney disease, Cushing's Disease, and diabetes in dogs. Blood pressure monitoring in these patients and in our senior pets is especially important.