Upstate Veterinary Specialties

Veterinary internal medicine encompasses illnesses involving internal organs such as the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, endocrine organs (e.g., thyroid, adrenal glands, and pancreas), blood, immune system, and infectious diseases. A board certified internal medicine specialist has undertaken several years of specialty training beyond veterinary school in the discipline of internal medicine, and has been certified as a specialist in this area via a series of examinations and case reports by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Like people, pets can develop complicated illnesses that can necessitate the expertise of a skilled and knowledgeable internal medicine specialist. Often, these patients may be dealing with multiple diseases processes in which the global, whole-body viewpoint of an internal medicine specialist can assist in management of the case. Coordination between the local veterinarian and specialist is very important in management of internal medicine patients, and because the pet owner is the best resource for how the patient is feeling, communication between owner and veterinarian is critical for ideal therapy of the pet.

Internal medicine specialists use advanced testing procedures in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis for the pet, and formulate the best treatment plan. These diagnostic procedures could include novel blood and urine tests, blood pressure measurement, radiographs, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, MRI, contrast studies, ultrasound-guided aspirates or biopsies, and endoscopy in a variety of areas of the body (e.g., nasal cavities, trachea, lungs, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, reproductive tract, and urinary tract).

Once a diagnosis is made, internal medicine specialists can provide state-of-the-art therapy to fight disease, with the goal of maintaining or improving your pet’s quality of life. These treatments could include the use of novel medications, intravenous nutrition, feeding tube placement, 24-hour hospitalization, transfusions, oxygen supplementation, and central venous pressure monitoring.

Because of the scarcity of board-certified oncology and neurology specialists in the capital district, the internal medicine department at Upstate Veterinary Specialties also provides high-quality care in the areas of medical oncology and medical neurology. These services include cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, and diagnosis and therapy for seizure and nerve weakness disorders.