Digital Radiology
At Kimbrough Animal Hospital, we use the latest in advanced digital radiology as part of your pet's diagnostic care.
Radiographs are one of the most important diagnostic tools in veterinary medicine. They allow us to view the shape, size and location of organs inside your pet's body. Radiographs are extremely helpful for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. X-rays are useful for examining your pet's bones, lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity and other areas of the body. An x-ray can detect a fractured bone, tumor, heart problem and locate an obstruction or foreign body in your pet's stomach or intestine. X-rays and Ultrasound are often utilized together for an even more accurate diagnosis.
Kimbrough Animal Hospital has recently acquired a state-of-the-art, digital x-ray machine. Compared to x-rays produced by a traditional machine, the quality of digital radiographs is much better. Since digital x-rays are immediately displayed on a computer monitor, they are produced quickly and can be manipulated to get a better view of your pet's bones and internal organs.
Digital radiology has many benefits for your pet, you and our staff. Our digital x-ray technology produces clear, detailed images that allow our medical team to make a more rapid and accurate diagnosis. Digital x-rays are easier and faster to process than traditional film x-rays, resulting in less time on the x-ray table (and less stress) for your pet. The harsh chemicals once necessary for developing x-rays are not needed for digital x-rays, reducing potential harm to our staff and the environment.
Because digital x-ray images can be saved on a computer, they can be transmitted quickly by email to outside specialists if a referral or second opinion were necessary.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy is a non-invasive method of looking inside the esophagus, stomach and intestines by passing a thin flexible tube (with a small camera lens attached to the end) through the mouth and into the upper gastrointestinal tract. At Kimbrough Animal Hospital, we use endoscopy to:
- Visualize and examine the inner surface of the esophagus, stomach and intestines
- Remove foreign body material from the stomach and esophagus
- Collect biopsies of the stomach and intestines
- Remove polyps and tumors
Even though anesthesia is required to keep your pet at ease during the endoscopic procedure, the amount of anesthesia and recovery time is minimal. Endoscopy is often indicated when routine blood and urine tests, radiographs and ultrasound do not give the complete diagnostic picture.
The benefits of endoscopy over exploratory surgery include no surgical incision, shortened anesthetic time, decreased inflammation, less physiologic stress and discomfort for your pet, and an earlier return to normal function.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a pain-free, totally non-invasive technique that uses high-frequency soundwaves to produce a real-time moving image of your pet's internal organs It allows us a look at your pet's internal organs, chest and abdomen without surgery or sedation. Dr. Kimbrough performs ultrasound examinations for a wide-range of diagnostic cases. It is particularly useful in viewing your pet's abdominal organs and performing pregnancy evaluations. Ultrasound is also useful in evaluating your pet's heart functions and is used for bladder scans.
In most cases, an ultrasound procedure is relatively brief and your pet is able to go home the very same day. Most importantly, though, an ultrasound will help us make an accurate diagnosis of your pet's condition and provide effective treatment recommendations.
In House Laboratory
Kimbrough Animal Hospital maintains a full service diagnostic laboratory that allows us to perform complete blood counts, chemistry profiles, electrolytes, urinalysis, fecal exams, cytology evaluations and other valuable tests for your pet. With our advanced laboratory technology, we are able to receive fast and accurate results, helping to determine your pet's diagnosis and what treatment therapy is required.
Our complete in-house laboratory is particularly essential to our emergency and critical care cases. We also offer several tests as part of your pet's wellness exam and specialized testing if your pet is in his or her senior years. We can often have results within 15 minutes for many tests.
Referrals
If your pet warrants additional diagnostic tests, Dr. Kimbrough can refer you to Dallas Referral Practice, Texas A&M and Shreveport Referral practices.
