Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Here at Lebanon Animal Hospital, we’re learning new skills on the most up-to-date technology and equipment to provide the highest standard of care for your pet. Check out all the neat new tricks we have up our sleeves, offering top-notch diagnostic testing for your furry friend.

 

Dental radiography

We are so excited to have the ability to take radiographs of your pet’s teeth. Dental X-rays are one of the most important diagnostic tools available to our team when inspecting your pet’s oral health. Since animals are excellent at hiding signs of pain, it can be difficult to determine which tooth, if any, is bothering her. Taking full-mouth radiographs gives us a ton of information about the bone, roots, and internal structure of your furry friend’s teeth. Why can’t we just use our standard radiography equipment? Well, standard-size radiograph plates aren’t designed to fit into an animal’s mouth, so the image quality is not as sharp. Radiographs taken with a special dental unit are crystal clear and can pinpoint any problems, such as:

  • Tooth fractures
  • Tumors involving the jaw
  • Tooth root abscesses
  • Retained teeth (teeth that failed to grow in normally above the gum line)
  • Feline resorptive lesions (painful erosions on the tooth’s surface)

Dental radiography is performed while your pet is sedated, so we are able to get the clearest, most detailed image possible. Once the problem area is identified, we can move right into a dental procedure. This new diagnostic tool will be invaluable in helping to diagnose oral health issues and pain.

 

SediVue urine analyzer

Have you ever experienced the struggle of chasing around a tiny dog with a soup ladle, hoping to catch a few drops of urine? If you don’t work in the veterinary industry, you probably haven’t. But, our staff has been there too many times. Knowing how difficult it may be to snag a urine sample from a freaked-out feline or crazed canine who is wondering why you’re chasing her while she’s trying to do her business, we’ve purchased a urine analyzer.

This new urine sediment analyzer from IDEXX requires only a mere four to five drops of urine from your pet. And, after placing the sample inside the analyzer, it only takes about three minutes to see results. During each analysis, the equipment captures 70 high-resolution images to allow us to take a closer look at the sample. Urine sediment can contain many different components and will clue us in to potential disease processes. We look for:

  • Red blood cells (indicates inflammation)
  • White blood cells (indicates infection)
  • Bacteria (cocci or rods, indicates infection)
  • Epithelial cells (cancerous or benign)
  • Crystals (indicate infection, diet imbalance, or other disease process)
  • Casts (indicate origin of illness)

As this analyzer is used more frequently, its machine-learning capabilities enable it to better identify abnormalities. More than 70 million images are available within the IDEXX system to help guide medical decisions. This analyzer will free up more time to care for your pet by quickly providing us with reliable, accurate results.

 

Radiologist interpretation

Even though our veterinarian is well-trained in reading radiographs, working with a board-certified veterinary radiologist is really stepping up our X-ray game. These specialists undergo the standard eight years of schooling for their veterinary degree, then labor through a three-year residency and must receive passing scores on a difficult exam to become certified. See why we want to consult with these brilliant minds about your beloved pet? Since we don’t read radiographs all day, every day, we want to have some specialized minds weigh in on certain situations:

  1. Searching for masses in the lungs, heart, abdomen, or bones
  2. Identifying tiny fractures
  3. Verifying changes in chronic diseases that may need different treatment

Utilizing the radiologists at Antech Diagnostics allows us to quickly send over digital radiographs for a second opinion without referring you and your pet to a specialist. Collaborating with these experts in their specialty means that we can ensure your furry companion receives the highest standard of veterinary care.

As veterinary medicine continues to advance, so will we. Our goal at Lebanon Animal Hospital is to stay on top of new equipment, technology, and skills to better serve you and your pet. Give us a call at 615-444-4422 to learn more about our new updates!