Internal Medicine
There may be occasions when the first diagnosis of your pet’s symptoms reveals that a number of complex medical problems may exist. Should this happen, our Internal Medicine team specialises in investigating further, to make sure that no causes of the pet’s condition are overlooked.
Precise understanding of your pet’s ailment
Southfields’ board-certified Internal Medicine Specialists are licensed veterinarians who have undertaken intensive, additional training in understanding how your pet’s internal body systems function. Their role is to diagnose and treat any serious diseases that may be affecting the health of those systems. They have greater knowledge and experience in the management of complicated and common medical conditions in dogs and cats. They are also trained in using advanced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, such as endoscopy.
Ensuring better outcomes
Because better ongoing health care enables pets to enjoy longer lives, older pets may develop multiple disease states that require sensitive, experienced, and informed management. Our Internal Medicine Specialists understand these requirements, and are also especially prepared to care for pets that may be facing multiple health problems at the same time.
A referral to our Internal Medicine team will involve an initial consultation where we will examine your pet and take a full medical history. Typically, a patient will then be admitted for further tests, for example blood tests, x-rays, ultrasound scans or endoscopy. Following these tests, patients are usually discharged to await results.
We’ll look into conditions presenting with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive thirst, malaise, weight loss or gain, anaemia and fever. Once we’ve identified the cause of your pet’s symptoms, we’ll develop an individual treatment plan tailored to their specific needs. If diagnosis reveals a non-medical disease we will work with our colleagues in the relevant team at Southfields to arrange the appropriate treatment.
Supporting referring vets
Our dedicated specialist-led Internal Medicine team has extensive experience in acute, chronic and urgent medical problems. We take an inclusive multi-disciplinary approach and work closely with our colleagues in other disciplines on challenging cases to ensure the most complete care.
Many new cases and emergencies referred to Southfields are seen first by the Internal Medicine team. Our continuity of care means referring veterinary surgeons, our patients and their owners all benefit from having access to a member of the specialist team, whenever needed. Our team welcomes calls for advice on specific patients and cases, even if no referral is required.
How our Internal Medicine service can help
Conditions we treat:
- Endocrine disorders
- Gastro-intestinal diseases
- Urinary diseases
- Hepatic diseases
- Infectious diseases
- Immune-mediated diseases
- Respiratory diseases
- Pancreatic diseases
- Haematological disease
- Renal disease
Advanced clinical services include
- Endoscopic techniques
- Transfusion medicine with a full range of blood and blood products available on-site, including in-house cross-matching
- Continuous glucose meter to allow monitoring of challenging diabetes
- Bone marrow sampling
- Feeding tube placement and management
- 24-hour out-of-hours Specialist-led Internal Medicine service
Equipment and facilities include
- Superbly well-equipped intensive care units with 24-hour nursing care
- Specialist-led advanced diagnostic imaging including ultrasound, CT, fluoroscopy (contrast studies) and MRI with bespoke protocols
- State-of-the-art endoscopy suite equipped with a wide range of flexible and rigid endoscopes
- Soundproof wards
- Isolation department for treatment of infectious diseases
- Our dedicated 'Cat Land' has been awarded gold status by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM)
Our Internal Medicine Team
The Internal Medicine team at Southfields Veterinary Specialists includes board-certified Internal Medicine specialists, supported by clinicians, residents and interns. As treatment of some medical conditions we see can require intensive nursing, our team also includes highly qualified nurses who are dedicated to caring for Internal Medicine patients 24/7 while they are hospitalised with us.
"Our dog Ruby has been under their care for several years on and off with an immune disorder that has been life-threatening at times. All the staff have provided the best possible care and treatment with expertise in all the different areas of animal medicine with amazing equipment to support treatment."
