Diagnostic Care

Laboratory Services

Laboratory testing is a valuable diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine. As we continually strive to offer the highest-quality medicine, we are proud to include in-house diagnostic laboratory services as a means of providing excellent care to our patients.

Although many important diagnostic tests can only be performed by outside laboratories, other tests can be performed in-house. Having access to accurate in-house diagnostic test results can help our veterinary care team serve your pets’ needs by expanding the testing options available to all our patients. Sometimes, having access to a diagnostic test result "right now" can mean the difference between starting the right treatment plan "right now" and either starting the wrong thing or worse, doing nothing.

We use Idexx machines for our in-house bloodwork, and can run a variety of the most useful profiles. Not only are these invaluable for working up a "sick" animal, but we strongly encourage people to run preoperative bloodwork for all elective surgeries. We can also look at electrolytes and perform a CBC (complete blood count).

We also perform fecals, urinalyses, and some cytologies, as well as being able to run a variety of specialized "snap" tests for things like heartworm disease and infectious agents like FeLV.

Intentionally we use a completely different company, Antech, for our "send out" labwork as we feel this gives a little more validity when we are looking for confirmation of an unexpected in-house result.

Have questions about the diagnostic testing services we offer? Ask one of our skilled professionals how our laboratory services can benefit your beloved pet.

Ultrasound

Although humans and animals are different in many ways, some advances in human medicine are also very useful for veterinary patients. One of these advances, diagnostic ultrasound, has proven to be a powerful tool in veterinary medicine.

Ultrasonography is a type of diagnostic technique that uses ultrasound waves to produce an imaging study. This means that when we perform ultrasonography, we can see internal images of the patient’s body. Unlike some other imaging studies, like x-rays, ultrasonography does not use radiation. Instead, ultrasonography uses high-frequency sound (ultrasound) waves to create a picture of what is inside your pet’s body. Ultrasonography is a completely non-invasive, painless way to diagnose and evaluate many common diseases.

An ultrasound machine generates ultrasound waves. The machine is connected to a small probe that is held gently against your pet's skin. The probe sends out painless ultrasound waves that bounce off structures (for example, organs) in your pet’s body and return to a sensor inside the ultrasound machine. The ultrasound equipment collects these reflected “echoes” and uses them to generate images that are viewable on a screen. Ultrasound waves can generate excellent images of abdominal organs, including the liver, spleen, gallbladder, and kidneys. It is also useful for assessing fetal health and monitoring pregnancy, and it can help us diagnose and stage (determine the severity of) some forms of cancer.

Because ultrasound images are produced in real-time, this technology can be used to evaluate the heart as it beats. This can help us detect abnormalities in the motion of heart valves, blood flow through the heart, and contractions of the heart muscle. It can also be used to assess the heart for defects.

Ultrasound services are performed by Dr. Julie McCormick with Davidson River Ultrasound Services. We also offer referrals to MOVES, a board-certifie internal medicine service, which would also be on site with an appointment and deposit.