Park West Veterinary Associates
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Our Services

Preventive Health Care and Senior Care

As veterinary medicine has progressed over the years we are recognizing the importance of disease prevention. Our recommendations range from a simple diet change to detailed physical therapy. We recommend performing annual blood tests to identify disease early. Quite often we identify a pet with thyroid disease or kidney disease which is fairly easy to manage when diagnosed early. For senior patients, we recommend they be seen twice annually to address any issues that may arise as your pet ages.

Dental Care

Over the last 5-10 years we have recognized the importance of dental health in pets. Tartar, gingivitis, and tooth decay occur over time in most pets because they don't brush their teeth and they are living longer now than ever before. Dental disease is a constant source of infection for the heart, kidneys and other organs. It also produces discomfort as you may imagine if you had dental disease.

We have the most up to date equipment including digital dental x ray. Our staff is well trained on the latest techniques and our doctors have spent time training under board certified veterinary dentists. Our goal is to educate you on the importance of dental care and provide your pet with a healthy comfortable mouth.

Ear Disease

Ear disease or "otitis" is one of the most common diseases we treat here in the southeast. It is often due to underlying allergies or environment. It often results in shaking and rubbing of the ears or face. Our goal in treating your pet's ears is to not only treat the current infection but to prevent future infections.

Heartworm and Flea Prevention

Heartworm and Flea prevention have become very effective and easy to use over the years with many products to choose from. Our doctors spend time studying all the different products to decide which ones are the safest and most effective for your pet. Each pet has different needs and we design a protocol for your pet that is sure to prevent heartworms and fleas if given correctly. We get all our products directly from the manufacturer and have a guarantee from them. There are many internet pharmacies but none of them purchase their products from the manufacturer and many of the products are purchased from foreign countries. We have seen a number of pets on products that are expired, the incorrect dose, or from a foreign country. Most of our prices are lower than internet pharmacies due to the fact that the manufacturer provides rebates or getonefree programs so please contact us before purchasing from an unknown pharmacy. Above all, we care about your pet's health and safety.

Spay and Neuter

Spaying or Neutering is very important in controlling the pet population as well as reducing unwanted behaviors. Our goal is to not only spay or neuter your pet but have the process be as easy and painfree for them as possible. We take a number of precautions to be sure that happens. For example, we place an IV catheter in every patient which provides fluids before, during, and after anesthesia. It would be malpractice for your doctor to put you under general anesthesia without fluids. This plays an important role in providing comfort after surgery as well as preventing kidney disease in the future.

Our doctors wear a sterile gown and gloves and use a sterile instrument and suture pack for each surgery. We have a dedicated surgery room which is cleaned specifically for this purpose. Each pet has their blood pressure, oxygen level, temperature, heart rate and rhythm measured throughout surgery to ensure safety and ideal anesthetic depth. We also focus on pain management by providing 3 different pain medications during surgery and we send your pet home with a few days as well. All the sutures we use are under the skin and dissolve on their own so they don't have any sutures to lick. Your pet comes into the hospital in the morning and goes home that same afternoon and most are back to their normal active selves by the following afternoon.

Your pet's spay or neuter is likely to be the only surgery they will have their entire life so be sure it is performed the way they would choose.

Vaccines

Vaccines are an important part of maintaining a healthy pet and we do lots of research in choosing which vaccines are safest and most effective for your pet. We give many of the core vaccines once every three years and tailor the vaccines to your pet's specific environment and lifestyle.

XRays

Xray is another tool that we use to identify everything from fractured bones to cancer. It is a critical part of diagnosing disease. We also have the ability to have board certified radiologist review the xrays which can be very beneficial on difficult cases.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound, also known as a sonogram, is a great tool we use to identify everything from cancer to heart disease. Our doctors have spent many hours training with radiologists to become proficient at imaging your pet.

Pet Cardiology

Your pet's heart is very similar to your own in that it has four chambers and valves and is responsible for pumping blood to the entire body. Certain breeds are predisposed to heart disease and many breeds develop abnormal valves as they age. We work hard on every visit to listen for abnormalities or symptoms that may indicate heart disease. If your pet does have heart disease we have the ability to perform an echocardiogram, or heart ultrasound, to help determine the exact problem which allows us to decide on the best treatment for your pet.

Reproduction

Are you planning on breeding your pet? Our doctors can educate you on what is involved as well as recommend what tests should be performed to prevent passing unwanted disease to the puppies or kittens. We have the ability to perform vaginoscopy as well as a lab that measures hormone levels. With the use of ultrasound we can evaluate if the dam is pregnant as early as 21 days and we can also evaluate fetus viability.

InHouse Laboratory

Many different diseases and illnesses are diagnosed with bloodwork. We have a full Heska laboratory in our hospital which gives us the ability to get answers in minutes and is the only option in emergency situations. Kidney disease, diabetes, liver disease, and infections are just a few of the problems that we can diagnose in minutes with the use of this equipment.

Prescription Diets

Prescription diets have improved pet quality of life significantly over the years and continue to make dramatic steps in disease treatment and prevention. Prescription diets are used for everything from diabetes, obesity, cancer, arthritis, and heart disease. We carry Hill's, Royal Canin and Purina in our hospital.

OFA Certification

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is designed to help prevent the breeding of dogs with genetic orthopedic problems. We are able to take the needed xrays in our hospital and send them to these radiologists to evaluate. It is important to discuss this with our doctors before breeding your pet.

Chemotherapy

Cancer is something that we seem to see more of these days most likely due to our ability to diagnose it and the fact that pets are living longer than ever before. Fortunately, we have a number of treatment options available. The options consist of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. Dogs and cats handle chemotherapy extremely well compared to humans. We have the ability to provide chemotherapy in our hospital and we also have a veterinary oncologist in town available for consultation and referral.

Laser Therapy

Every day we are looking for new noninvasive, safe therapies for disease. Our new MLS laser therapy unit is a stateoftheart treatment option for arthritis, skin wounds, ear disease, disc disease, and postoperative inflammation. There are no negative side effects seen with this treatment and many of our patients have had great relief of inflammation and pain after treatment with the laser.

Soft Tissue and Orthopedic Surgery

We have a spacious dedicated surgery suite and the advanced equipment needed to perform most surgeries. Our doctors are proficient in many soft tissue surgeries including, spay and neuter, enterotomy, gastrotomy, cystotomy, splenectomy, gastropexy, tumor removal, and many more. We also provide orthopedic procedures such as luxating patella repair, cranial cruciate repair (using the tightrope or lateral suture technique), and FHO. We also have a board certified surgeon who comes to our facility to perform the more advanced procedures.

Rehabilitation Therapy & Acupuncture

By optimizing mobility, decreasing pain and increasing the overall fitness level of their pet, our goal is to assist owners in maximizing their pet's quality of life. Through a variety of therapeutic exercises and modalities, canine rehabilitation works to improve function, promote healing, and restore movement and mobility. We achieve these goal through the use of acupuncture, therapeutic exercise, electrical stimulation, cold and heat therapy, therapeutic massage, pulsed electromagnetic therapy, and therapeutic laser.

TAIL WAGGING PATIENTS

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