Anaesthesia

Local anaesthetic can be used for minor procedures, however often a sedative may be needed as well. A general anaesthetic is used for any major surgical procedure. Pets are unconscious and good analgesia allows us to operate without them feeling any pain, discomfort or distress. We have several induction agents to choose from depending on the patient. Intubation is then usually performed, and we have four machines for gaseous anaesthesia with piped gases and active gas scavenging.

Biochemistry Laboratory Machine

Biochemistry analysers are used to measure the levels of enzymes and other substances within the blood stream. The results can then be used to assess liver and kidney function as well as other parameters. We have a Vet Test 8008, and Vet Stat blood gas and electrolyte analyser. Having these facilities "in house" enables us to get both urgent and routine results in hours rather than waiting for them from an external laboratory.

Endoscopes

This state of the art equipment is a way of looking into areas of the body that are not accessible from the outside. A thin tube is passed in to the animal and problems can be investigated visually without an operation. We have three different endoscopes, one rigid and two flexible, for different sized animals and different applications. The larger of the flexible endoscopes is a video endoscope, it has a camera at the end of it enabling the pictures to be viewed on a monitor by more than one staff member at a time.

Haematology Laboratory Machine

Haematology is the analysis of the numbers of blood cells in the blood stream. The red cells carry oxygen around the body. A shortage of red cells occurs in anaemia. One of the main functions of the white cells is to fight against infection. There are various types of white cells and the nature and duration of the infection can lead to an increase in specific types of white cell. Analysis of the haematology results can help the vets in the diagnosis of many conditions. We have a Lasercyte machine.

Dental Scaler and Polisher

Removing the hard calculus from teeth helps to eliminate the places that bacteria can lurk in the mouth. This helps to prevent periodontal disease. After the teeth are scaled they are then polished - this leaves a nice smooth surface and makes it more difficult for plaque to re-attach. Dental polishing together with good home care is designed to prevent recurrence of dental disease. We have a dedicated dental suite at the hospital.

X-Ray Machine

We have a modern x-ray machine to help us diagnose both soft tissue and orthopaedic conditions. An automatic processor is used to develop the X-Rays and a variable viewing screen is used for their interpretation.

ECG Machine

An ECG machine records the heart's electrical activity. It also can help detect changes in heart chamber sizes.

Sterilizer

To help to minimise the risk of infection a state of the art autoclave is used for sterilizing our surgical instruments.

Ultrasound

An ultrasound machine is another way of looking inside our patients. In this case the picture is built up from how solid the tissues are in terms of sound waves. As an example of the use of ultrasound consider its use in cardiology. Conventional x-ray pictures (or radiographs) of the heart only show the general outline shape of the heart and its size. However an ultrasound can show the thickness of the heart muscle walls and the actual movement of the heart valves. Many of us will be familiar with ultrasound images of babies in the womb - ultrasound can also be used in veterinary medicine for pregnancy diagnosis. Our machine is state of the art and has colour doppler as well.

Other Equipment

We have an oxy cap machine for monitoring heart rate and blood gases etc... during anaesthesia.

We have a machine to measure blood pressure.

We have a cryosurgery unit, and an x-ray developer for quality x-rays.

We have an i/v infusion pump to help with the administration of i/v fluids to very small animals and those in intensive care.

We also have electrocautery and diathermy.