Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
At Burton Creek Veterinary Clinic, we utilize advanced in-house technology and equipment, as well as external reference labs to help accurately diagnose your pet’s medical issues. We offer a variety of services, including in-house blood analyzers, cytology, digital radiology (X-ray) and comprehensive ultrasound.
In-House Veterinary Lab
Burton Creek Veterinary Clinic offers an in-house laboratory that is able to quickly perform serum chemistry, blood cell counts, ova and parasite fecal exams and cytology.
The use of diagnostic imaging allows our vets to create extremely detailed images of your pet’s internal systems and structures.
These diagnostics can be conducted at the same time as your pet’s appointment, allowing our doctors to form a diagnosis and begin treatment as soon as possible.
Our Diagnostic Services
Burton Creek Veterinary Clinic is pleased to offer the following in-house advanced diagnostics:
- Radiography (Digital X-Rays)
- Ultrasound
- Bloodwork
- Urinalysis
- Fecal Exams
- Digital Dental X-Rays
- Cytology
- Electrocardiography (ECG)
Radiography (Digital X-Rays)
Using digital radiography (x-rays), we can examine your pet’s internal systems to reveal information that may be invisible from the outside. Radiography is safe, painless, and non-invasive. It uses only very low doses of radiation. Because the level of radiation exposure required to perform radiography is very low, even pregnant females and very young pets can undergo this procedure. Radiographs can be used to evaluate your pet’s organs and bones to diagnose conditions like fractures, heart disease, bladder stones, ingested foreign bodies and cancer.
Ultrasound
Diagnostic ultrasound utilizes high-frequency sound waves to produce images of the inside of the body. This allows our doctors to visualize organs, kidney stones, tumors and foreign bodies. Ultrasound is also commonly utilized to guide biopsies of masses and collect fluid from within the bladder and body cavities. Since we can capture ultrasound images in real-time, we are able to see your pet’s internal structures and systems function, including seeing the heartbeat and blood running through veins and arteries!
Having these valuable tools at our disposal, allows our vets to eliminate conditions, diagnose health problems and start treatment immediately.
Bloodwork
In our Tahoe City veterinary lab, we are able to run a number of different and specialized blood tests in order to determine the health of your pet and diagnose their illnesses. Common veterinary blood tests we perform are CBCs (complete blood cell counts), serum chemistry, and blood parasite screening. This allows us to diagnose blood disorders, infection, kidney disease, liver conditions, metabolic diseases, and blood parasites. Rain, shine, snow or road closure, we are able to perform these tests in the clinic to provide same day results and treatment.
Urinalysis
Urinalysis is a key diagnostic test that provides your vet with essential insights into the physical and chemical properties of your pet’s urine. Urinalysis is primarily used to assess the health of your animal’s kidneys and urinary tract system, but it can also be helpful in detecting issues in other organ systems and is important for diagnosing metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
This can be a very valuable diagnostic tool both for healthy and sick animals and should be included in any comprehensive evaluation of your pet’s overall health and well-being.
Fecal Exams
The ultimate goal of a fecal exam is to identify and treat parasitic and infectious diseases, that may be compromising the health of your pet, and even the health of your family. Fecal exams allow your vet to determine if your pet has any intestinal parasites like giardia, hookworms, and roundworms.
Parasites can cause diarrhea, make pets uncomfortable, irritable, and lead to more serious conditions. Some parasites can also even be transmitted to humans.
Since these parasites live in your pet’s gastrointestinal tract, they are often hidden from view. The only best way to detect them is with a fecal exam.
Annual fecal examines should be a vital part of every pet’s routine wellness exam.
Digital Dental X-Rays
The majority of dental disease occurs out of site and below the gum. Digital dental X-Rays help our veterinarians assess your pet’s oral health, identify sources of pain and infection.
Digital X-Rays are safer for your pet than traditional x-rays. They allow our team of veterinary professionals to examine roots, bones and internal anatomy of your cat or dog’s teeth and mouth.