Clinical Services

Clinical Activities and Procedures
 
Examination and Consultation
The dermatology patient will be examined and cared for by one or more senior veterinary students, a Dermatology resident and a Dermatology faculty member. It is imperative that the patient's primary caregiver accompany the patient to the initial visit so that a thorough medical, environmental and dietary history can be obtained. All new patients receive a complete physical examination. The case is discussed and a tentative diagnosis and treatment plan is presented to the owner.

Diagnostic Testing
The Dermatology Service offers a variety of specialized diagnostic procedures. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Exfoliative cytology and scrapings are performed on 90% of the dermatology cases. This quick and inexpensive diagnostic test can answer many questions within the time frame of the office call.

Intradermal Skin Testing for environmental allergy is routinely performed. More than 60 allergens are used.

Skin Biopsy is the ultimate diagnostic tool. The Dermatology Service performs multiple punch biopsies to identify difficult to diagnose skin disorders.

Our state of the art laboratory at the VMTH can perform multiple biomedical tests accurately and provides us with a rapid turn-around time.