In house Laboratory

Why in house?

Having the ability to run laboratory test in house is a must.  Having any sick or critical patients, we want to know what is going on inside as fast as possible.  In a matter of 10-15 min we can have a full Chemistry/CBC/Electrolytes done and start treating your pets accordingly.  Having in house capabilities also makes it helpful for our surgery patients to be evaluated prior to anesthesia.   

Why should I check my pets blood prior to a surgery procedure? 

Going under anesthesia we try to make everything as safe as possible.  All the way from using newest technology drugs, to safe monitoring procedures, to having intravenous access with fluids, and warming therapy throughout the procedure.  Unfortunately a physical exam prior to the procedure does not show us how our organs that need to process said drugs are functioning.  Having bloodwork prior to the anesthesia event will help lessen the chances of a anesthetic death.  If bloodwork shows signs of organ changes that are significant, it may change the surgical plans for your pet...or if there are slight changes it may alter what medications we may want to use for the procedure.  The more we know, the better we can treat.   

Bloodwork can be sent out too, right?

We work with wonderful outside laboratories that we trust.  If it is more cost effective to send out your animals sample, and we are not needing to get results right away, we will let you know.  Sending out routine bloodwork usually will be more indepth, and we can always pair it up with your yearly testing.