The ability to find out what is wrong with your pet when they can not tell us what is wrong is crucial in providing the best care possible to your pet.
We have numerous in-house testing and diagnostic tools available to accurately diagnose your pet's health and provide appropriate treatment. Knowing which tests to run and when the test should be performed is based on your pet's history and symptoms in combination with the doctor's physical exam findings. Diagnostic testing can be as simple as viewing a sample of fecal material under a microscope or as complicated as a laparoscopic procedure to view and take samples of internal organs. Sometimes diagnosing a disease is done by lab tests to eliminate other causes.
Creating a treatment plan for our patients that involves as little hospitalization time as possible, a shorter surgical procedure, or treating with as few medications as possible is our goal. This is why testing is so important, to allow us to diagnose the illness quickly and accurately.
Diagnostics are the voice that your pet has when they are "not acting right".
Within minutes of running blood chemistries, we can tell if there are any abnormalities of the liver, kidneys, pancreas, adrenal glands, and mineral or electrolyte abnormalities that cannot be determined by a physical examination.
The blood count analyzer can tell us if your pet has anemia, an infection or virus, bone marrow problems, allergies, leukemia, and blood clotting or platelet deficiencies within a few minutes.
By passing an endoscope through the urethra and into the bladder, we are able to look for diseases such as cancer of the bladder, inflammation of the bladder, cystitis, and bladder stones. We are able to biopsy any suspicious tissue for diagnosis without having to cut into the abdomen, creating faster healing and less discomfort for your pet than a traditional biopsy would cause.
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As in the human EKG, this test allows us to record the electrical activity of your pet's heart and potentially diagnose a wide range of heart related conditions.
A fiber optic endoscope is a long tube, either flexible or rigid, with a tiny camera on the end, which can be inserted into the body non-invasively to visualize areas of concern while your pet is under a general anesthesia. Some of the procedures we perform with an endoscope include:
By passing a long flexible fiberoptic endoscope through the mouth, we are able to see abnormalities such as ulcers, blockages, esophageal problems, and even retrieve foreign bodies your pet may have swallowed, all without surgery.
Through a single 1/2 inch incision, we are able to insert a scope with a tiny camera attached to it, allowing us to view the liver, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, lymphnodes, ureters, bladder, prostrate, and even biopsy tissue non-invasively. This is a relatively new procedure in veterinary medicine, allowing us to accurately diagnose diseases that in the past could not be diagnosed without opening the abdominal cavity. At Parker Road Animal Hospital, we are pleased to be one of the first veterinary hospitals in Texas to offer single port (incision) laparoscopic procedures.
With microscopy we are able to diagnose various skin diseases by looking at the cells from a skin scraping. We also use the microscope to check for worms with a fecal flotation or check for urine crystals, casts and cells. The microscope is also used for cytology, which is an examination of the various cell structures.
Many surgical and medical conditions are more accurately diagnosed with x-rays. We are able to see pictures of bones, muscles, and internal organs.
We are able to pass a very small fiberoptic endoscope through the nose to look for inflamation, foregin bodies, infection, tumors or other abnormalities of the nasal cavity, throat, or upper airways.
As our pets age, the pressure within the eyes can change, the same as it does in humans. This increased occular pressure is called glaucoma. Tonometry is our ability to measure the pressure so that if it is elevated, it can be treated.
The video otoscope allows pet owners to see the same magnified images inside your pet's ears that your veterinarian sees while performing a thorough ear exam. The magnification allows us to see the ear canal clearly and better diagnose ear infections, mites, ulcers, and foreign bodies such as grass awns and foxtails, etc. Scratching at the ears, shaking the head, or a foul odor coming from the ears can all be a sign of ear infection and an exam is recommended.
