We will contact your primary veterinarian and ask for all pertinent information and any imaging that has already been performed. Your veterinarian may ask that you bring a disc or hard copy of the radiographs, which will be returned to you or your family veterinarian after all the information is interpreted by our specialists. It is possible that previously performed testing may need to be repeated.

A few problems that an internist will see and treat are:

• Endocrine disorders (eg. Diabetes, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal disease)
• Gastrointestinal diseases
• Respiratory disorders
• Immune related disorders
• Infectious diseases
• Kidney and urinary diseases
• Liver, pancreatic, and gall bladder disease

The attending doctor will review all history provided by the referring veterinarian and perform a complete physical exam during the appointment. Once the doctor has a thorough assessment of what is recommended, his/her assistant will provide you with a detailed estimate to review. The estimate will include the exam, testing, treatment, and hospitalization costs if needed.

You are welcome to stay in the building to wait for your pet’s testing to be completed and to meet with the doctor after they have reviewed the results. Unfortunately, you cannot be present during the testing, but we can provide you with an estimated wait time in case you would like to leave and come back later.

For the safety of your pet and our staff, we do routinely employ the use of mild sedatives during many of our diagnostic tests. Simple procedures like routine blood or urine collection, however, are routinely performed without sedation unless otherwise needed.

Due to the complexity of most referral cases, it is not possible to obtain a diagnosis over the phone. Until we have received and reviewed all medical history and performed a thorough physical exam, we will not be able to offer medical recommendations for your pet.

Because of the complexity of the various diseases encountered, our internists routinely submit various tests to a myriad of specialized diagnostic labs. While most results are usually obtained within 2-3 days, some can take upwards of two weeks to be returned. Our internists will contact you with any outstanding lab results as soon as they are made available either by phone or email.

 

Consults with one of our internists typically last anywhere from 30-45 minutes.  After your pet has been examined and their history reviewed a diagnostic plan will be laid out that might include any number of tests or procedures.  Owing to the complexity of many of these tests that might be recommended, most patients will require admission to our clinic for at least several hours and in many cases for the duration of the day.  In some cases a follow-up appointment may be required to allow us to perform tests safely and accurately.  Your veterinarian and their assistants will strive to provide you with accurate wait times so that you can make adjustments to your personal schedule as might be necessary.

 

Abdominal ultrasound is commonly performed procedure utilized by our internists to evaluate the internal organs or their patients.  All ultrasounds at GCVS are performed by our highly skilled radiology department under the direction of two boarded radiologists. Each ultrasound takes upwards of one hour to perform and often requires the use of mild sedatives to relieve anxiety and reduce stress in your pet.  Owing to the number of ultrasounds our hospital performs every day if your pet needs an ultrasound they will be assigned a specific time at which this study will be performed.  Upon completion of the study at least two hours will be needed to allow our internists to review the images and converse with you about findings.  If time constraints prevent you from performing such a procedure on the day of your appointment we will work with you to facilitate having the imaging performed another day at your convenience.