Diagnostic Services for Your Pet
Our In-House Veterinary Lab
Laboratory testing is a critical component of preventative veterinary care and crucial for diagnosing and treating illness. Without timely access to accurate laboratory tests, your veterinarian is severely limited when it comes to diagnosing everything from heartworm to cancer to Lyme disease to feline leukemia, and other diseases.
Additionally, the ability to conduct pre-surgical lab tests is very important for understanding if anesthesia poses a risk to your pet.
Springtown Veterinary Hospital has a complete in-house lab capable of providing timely and accurate results. In many cases, we are able to receive results within minutes.
Digital Veterinary Radiology
Radiographs—also known as X-rays—are extremely helpful at identifying and diagnosing a number of medical conditions affecting your pet's lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity, bladder, kidneys and other areas. Radiographs can detect cancerous tumors, bladder and kidney stones, foreign objects, and heartworm disease. Radiographs are also very important for helping diagnose and treat injuries such as bone fractures, joint injuries, and many other orthopedic conditions.
At Springtown Veterinary Hospital, we take digital radiographs instead of using tradional X-ray film. Not only does this prevent contamination of the environment with harsh chemicals and metals previously used during X-ray processing, it is also much safer for your pet. With digital radiographs, we can make necessary adjustments to the images after they have been collected. This allows us to take the images only once, preventing repeated X-ray exposure to your pet. We don't have to keep trying to get it perfect—we can use our original images and make them perfect later! Your pet's radiographs can now be stored digitally and even emailed to our veterinary radiologist for consultations.
X-rays are considered a noninvsive diagnostic test and we usually do not need to provide sedation for collection of radiograph images. However, if your pet is nervous even after being comforted by our skilled technicians, your pet's doctor may offer to provide a mild sedative to allow the experience to be a pleasant one. We are also able to take dental radiographs using a separate digital dental unit.
Veterinary Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a very important diagnostic tool because it allows your veterinarian to gain a very precise look at your pet's internal organs without surgery or sedation. Ultrasound can reveal essential details not visible on radiographs.
In particular, ultrasound is invaluable for making treatment decisions for various types of heart disease and for assessing the function and health of other internal organs. It can be used to identify lesions, determine their origin, and see if they have spread to other areas of the body. Ultrasound is also a very powerful surgical aid by helping guide your veterinarian while obtaining a biopsy.
In most cases, the procedure is relatively brief, and your pet is able to go home the very same day. Most importantly, your veterinarian will be able to make a highly accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition and provide effective treatment recommendations.
The images produced by ultrasound are printed out, kept in your pet's file, and can be transferred to a CD or DVD. We can also email the images to a veterinary radiologist or specialist for review. The images are stored in our computer system to allow for comparison to new images acquired by ultrasound at a later date.
Video Otoscopy
Video Otoscopy, also called Video Vetscope, is utilized to examine, diagnose, and treat ear disease. The Vetscope projects video onto a large computer screen, capturing images from the external ear canal and tympanic membrane (ear drum).
Ear disease is extremely common in pets. There are a variety of causes including food allergy, seasonal allergy, and parasites. Secondary bacterial and yeast infections increase the severity of symptoms. The Video Vetscope allows effective cleaning of the deep ear canal. Medication can be infused into the middle and inner ear if needed.
Blood Pressure Measurement
High blood pressure can be just as dangerous for your pet as it is for you. High blood pressure—also known as hypertension—is far more common in pets than many people realize and can be associated with a number of serious illnesses such as kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism and more. Being able to accurately measure and monitor your pet's blood pressure is also an important surgical concern.
Springtown Veterinary Hospital uses an ultrasonic Doppler blood pressure monitor specially designed to accurately measure and monitor blood pressure in companion animals. After your pet's blood pressure has been measured, your veterinarian will explain the results and provide treatment options if necessary. Your veterinarian will also discuss home care strategies to prevent hypertension in your pet as well as the signs and symptoms of hypertension.
Electrocardiogram
The EKG, or ECG (Electrocardiogram) is a useful test for pets suffering from heart disease. It measures the electrical activity of the heart to detect any abnormal heart beats.
It is a safe, noninvasive procedure that uses clips (electrodes) placed on the skin over the chest and legs. ECG screening can detect heart disease, abnormal heart beats, or heart rhythm problems. ECG screening prior to anesthesia can help to minimize the risk of anesthesia and is recommended for pets of all ages.
Glaucoma Testing
Glaucoma doesn't only affect humans; your pet can develop it too. Glaucoma is a condition in which the fluid pressure inside the eye increases to a point where the optic nerve is damaged, causing loss of vision and blindness. Glaucoma is relatively common in animals and can develop as your pet ages—known as chronic glaucoma—or as the result of an injury or illness—known as acute glaucoma.
In many cases glaucoma can progress quite rapidly—especially when it is the result of injury or underlying illness—and is considered an emergency situation.
Due to the potential serious consequences of glaucoma, we recommend that you have your pet checked regularly for this disease. A routine glaucoma exam is not only an effective screening measure for chronic and acute glaucoma, but can also help set a baseline measurement for your pet. Setting a baseline measurement is important because normal Intraocular Pressure (IOP) can vary between species, breeds and even individual pets.
Your veterinarian uses an instrument called a Tonometer to measure the fluid pressure inside your pet's eyes. It is a noninvasive procedure that should not cause your pet any pain or discomfort, though your veterinarian will apply a mild anesthetic eye drop to ensure your pet is comfortable during the exam.
The examination is very quick to perform and once done, your veterinarian will explain your pet's measurement, what it tells us about the health of your pet's eyes, and provide any treatment options if necessary.