Procedures

A microchip is a tiny computer chip about the size of a grain of rice, which has an identification number programmed into it. The scanned number can then be checked against a register, which provides details of the animal’s ownership. Click here for more information about permanent identification technology.

The treatment of cancer has evolved over the last few decades and we can now diagnose and treat many cancers that were previously either not understood or considered untreatable. The important difference between cancer therapy in humans, and that offered for pet animals, is the goals of therapy. In humans, many cancers are cured, and cancer survivors may enjoy many decades of comfortable life. For this reason, treatment of cancer is aggressive and may be associated with side effects. While pet animals are very similar to humans, their lifespan is a lot shorter. Therefore, treatment is more about preserving quality of life, and getting them into remission, rather than trying to cure and having a lot of unpleasant side effects. Generally speaking, 80% of pets experience minimal to no side effects, up to 5% will have some side effects which may require hospitalisation and the rest mild side effects which can be well managed.

Treatment varies with the type of cancer being treated and the protocol being used. For most treatments, it involves a day in hospital, placing an intravenous catheter and having an infusion of chemotherapy medication. Some weeks may just be a tablet, others an injection under the skin, sometimes just a blood test. For the most part, pets handle all of this very well, sometimes we will give them some sedation so they are calm and relaxed and the whole experience is not stressful.

By investment in ultrasound, we have been able to greatly decrease the amount of surgical intervention that has had to be used to pursue a diagnosis. Many pets have benefited from this ability. We have been able to diagnose pregnancy and give accurate estimates of the anticipated birth date.

We have diagnosed tumours of the spleen and liver without exploratory surgery. We have even diagnosed the presence of fluid filling the sac around a dog’s heart, and then been able to remove the fluid allowing the heart to function normally again.

None of these would have been possible without this sophisticated equipment.

These days we know from human experience that biopsy samples of the stomach and bowel can be collected by the use of an endoscope. In veterinary medicine this equipment is especially helpful because we can remove pieces of bone which are wedged in the oesophagus, collect samples of fluid from deep in the lungs, and even look up into the nostrils from the back of the throat to find pieces of grass that often become wedged there.

We have invested in the most up-to-date suite of endoscopy instruments, with a particularly small-diameter endoscope, and the ability to visualise, record and store the images digitally, allowing the owners to see exactly what we have seen.