Internal Medicine

Our internal medicine specialists are trained to treat many different diseases. Some of these broad categories include liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as respiratory, cardiac, endocrine, infectious, and auto-immune diseases.

SEVO-Med’s internal medicine service is run by board-certified specialists. During your visit with the internist, a customized plan to diagnose and treat your pet with be discussed.

Advanced diagnostics and treatments at SEVO-Med

Liver disease can affect dogs and cats in a variety of ways. Congenital abnormalities, immune diseases, infectious diseases, and degenerative changes may cause disease. Some tests that might be indicated are bloodwork, an abdominal ultrasound, a needle aspirate or biopsy, and sometimes specialized ‘function’ tests. These will allow the internist to work with you and find the best course of treatment and give information about prognosis.

Kidney disease (also known as ‘renal’ disease) can be very common, as well. Some types of kidney disease are chronic, degenerative diseases (which are very common in cats but also affect dogs) and some are acute – meaning they are sudden in onset. These can be caused by infections or toxins. The internist might run bloodwork, run urine tests, perform an abdominal ultrasound, and check for specific infections if indicated.

Gastrointestinal disorders are common and can be primarily from the gastrointestinal tract or secondary to inflammation of the pancreas, liver, dietary changes, or other conditions. The internist may need to perform endocrine testing and abdominal ultrasound, as well as bloodwork, to narrow down the cause. Endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract is oftentimes needed as well.

Respiratory diseases are also seen by our internal medicine staff. Your pet may have a cough or trouble breathing, which may require more specific tests such as x-rays, a cardiac or thoracic ultrasound, or a sampling of fluid from the lungs depending on the case. We have the capability to provide oxygen for your pet if needed.

Cardiac diseases are also diagnosed and treated by our Internal Medicine staff. A heart murmur or difficulty breathing might indicate underlying heart disease, which might warrant diagnostics such as an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), EKG (rhythm strip), or chest x-rays.

Endocrine diseases such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, and Addison’s disease are frequently seen as well in both dogs and cats. Usually, bloodwork and specialized function tests are part of the diagnostic work-up for pets with clinical signs or a prior diagnosis of endocrine disease.

Infectious diseases can affect multiple systems and our doctors can diagnose and treat these diseases in a variety of ways.

Auto-immune diseases commonly affect the joints, the red blood cells, and the platelets. We sometimes will need to test for other conditions to rule them out before treating for primary auto-immune disease, since the immune system can be triggered by other factors.

Hematological diseases, which include conditions of the blood cells, are treated by internists. A bone marrow aspirate, bloodwork and specific testing is often needed.