A pets health center is a medical service facility that caters specifically to animals. These veterinary hospitals and treatment centers are a crucial component of any complete and comprehensive veterinary system. Unlike a standard vet's office, where there are limited materials and equipment available, a pets health center typically has a number of unique pieces of equipment and tools which help to ensure that your pet will receive all of the particular treatments that he needs. Read on for a few of the basic services that are available at most pets health centers.
Orthopedic Surgery
Orthopedic surgery is a type of surgery that involves your pets muscular and skeletal systems. These surgeries require delicate instruments and sanitary environment that may not be available in most standard veterinary centers.
Orthopedic surgery is commonly used to help correct damage to a leg or another part of your pet's body that may have become injured. It can also help to remedy the symptoms of certain long term and degenerative disease like osteoporosis and arthritis, although the applications in these situations are somewhat more limited. Most health centers for pets will have at least one resident orthopedic surgeon.
Ultrasounds
Ultrasounds are used in veterinary medicine as a way of diagnosing and analyzing conditions which are internal. While most veterinary offices will have x-ray machines and similar mechanisms, an ultrasound setup is useful for analyzing other types of internal health concerns. If your vet is unable to properly diagnose your pet's condition based on his own equipment and expertise, he may recommend that you take your cat in to a pets health center for ultrasound testing and other types of diagnostic procedures as well.
Laboratory Testing Services
A pets health center typically has a full laboratory to help with the diagnostic process as well. In this part of the health center, veterinarians and technicians will send samples of blood, tissue and other items extracted from cats in order to test them for certain conditions. This can be one of the single most effective means of determining what your pet may be suffering from. Typical tests that are done in a pets health center laboratory measure levels of the following:
- liver enzymes
- kidney hormones
- presence of cancerous cells
- blood cell count
There are also a variety of other types of tests which can be completed in the laboratory as well.
Pharmacy
Many pets health centers also have a pharmacy section as well. This is helpful if you're looking for a particular type of medicine which has been recommended to your or prescribed by your vet but you're having a difficult time finding it in other areas. The pharmacy can order away for particular medicines if necessary. This is also helpful in that it makes the pets health center a one stop shop for veterinary services and the medicine that you'll need to help care for your pet after you're through with the examinations too.