The In House Laboratory at Allegheny Veterinary Services
Allegheny Veterinary Services’ In-House Laboratory features advanced clinical equipment that enables our staff members to rapidly diagnose a wide range of acute, chronic, and parasitic infections, diseases, and conditions so that treatment can begin right away. This immediate access to results helps ensure an that the optimal outcome can be achieved for each patient. Our on-site lab is fully equipped to process complete blood counts, serum chemistry analysis, and many additional testing procedures for dogs, cats, and most of our exotic animal patients.
Our laboratory serves the needs of companion animal and livestock owners, the poultry and beef industry, as well as other veterinarians and public health workers. We are able to identify and monitor disease outbreaks and submit reportable diseases, such as anthrax, brucellosis, leptospirosis, influenza, rabies, etc., in the interest of public health.We routinely complete the following types of tests at our location, and we have the capability to run several additional types of testing.
- Complete Blood Count (CBC)
- Serum Chemistry Profiles
- Blood Smears
- Thyroid Screening Function Tests
- Endocrine Testing (Cushing’s Disease, Addison’s Disease)
- Urinalysis w/ Microscopic Sediment Exam
- Urine Culture
- Fecal Centrifugation Exams
- Blood Clotting Profile
- Heartworm Antigen Test
- Cytology
- Feline Infectious Disease Panel (FIV/FeLV)
- Canine Infectious Disease Panel (HW, Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichia)
- Fungal Culture
- Referral Laboratory Testing: Access to Private, State, and University Labs
Our partnerships with other university, private, state, and federal laboratories ensure that we are able to provide comprehensive disease testing to identify all conditions known to affect the canine and feline populations. When specialized testing is indicated, we carefully consider each illness on an individual basis and make a referral to submit the specimen to the most appropriate laboratory. This helps ensure that the most accurate and reliable testing is completed according to the capabilities of each facility.
Allegheny Veterinary Services Offers Noninvasive Ultrasound
Diagnostic and Imaging with Digital Ultrasound
At Allegheny Veterinary Services, our staff members utilize state-of-the-art digital ultrasound equipment on a daily basis. This diagnostic tool has become invaluable as a safe, pain-free, noninvasive means of providing immediate imaging to diagnose, locate, and evaluate many types of issues affecting soft tissues throughout the body.
The ultrasound procedure utilizes sound waves to visualize the organs and soft tissue structures within the body. We are able to evaluate the shape, size, and even the texture of structures hidden within the body. This procedure may require clipping of the haircoat and in rare cases, mild sedation for best results. Ultrasound may be used alone or in conjunction with xrays to more fully evaluate the patient. Some reasons why a patient may be referred for ultrasound include: unexplained vomiting, ongoing diarrhea, urinary issues, unexplainable weight loss, abnormal blood work, and the presence of fluid within the abdomen or chest.
Our veterinarians perform the following ultrasound studies:
Abdominal Ultrasound: This is a comprehensive imaging study of the liver, gallbladder, kidneys, spleen, adrenals, urinary bladder, lymph nodes, GI tract (stomach, duodenum, jejunum, colon), pancreas and fluid evaluation.
Urinary Ultrasound: This imaging study concentrates on the kidneys, urinary bladder and prostate (in males) and is useful in evaluating chronic bladder infections, cancer, bladder and kidney stones.
Pregnancy Ultrasound: Pregnancy can be diagnosed as early as 21 days of gestation in the dog. This can also be used to rule-out false pregnancy and infections of the uterus.
Musculoskeletal Ultrasound: Ultrasound is very helpful in evaluation of lameness and diagnosing disease of the joints, ligaments and tendons in both our working/sporting dogs and companion pets. Ultrasound is more sensitive than xray at detecting early arthritis and cartilage defects that may cause decreased performance or cause lameness.
Ophthalmic Ultrasound: Ultrasound is extremely helpful a complete examination of the eye to detect retinal detachment, lens luxation and possibly tumors.
Skin Massed & Subcutaneous Masses: Ultrasound is helpful in evaluating the size, structure, depth and integrity of masses on the body to assist in diagnosis and creating a surgical or treatment plan.
Thoracic Ultrasound: This imaging study includes evaluation of the chest cavity, heart and lungs. It is useful in diagnosing abscesses, cancer, fluid on the chest, fluid around the heart, and heart structure and function.
Cystocentesis – Ultrasound guided collection of urine directly from the bladder is often our preferred method of urine sampling.
Percutaneous liver biopsy (requires heavy sedation/general anesthesia)
Fine Needle Aspirate – Ultrasound is used in this procedure to visually guide a specific mass or organ and collect a specific sample.
Liver Biopsy – Ultrasound may be used to guide a biopsy of the liver without requiring surgery. This procedure still requires sedation or a short general anesthesia.
Pericardiocentesis is a critical emergency life-saving procedure most commonly performed in patients that have developed cardiac tampenade. This procedure involves placement of a needle just near the heart to collect fluid and restore proper function. Fluid is often evaluated for evidence of cancer or infection. (Emergency services are for established patients only.)
Pleurocentesis is performed on patients with difficulty breathing as a result of fluid or air on the chest. This procedure provides immediate relief to the patient, although it may be temporary depending on the underlying cause. Fluid is then evaluated for evidence of infection or cancer.
Joint, Tendon and Ligament Treatment – Ultrasound is often used to guide sampling of joint fluid or guide specific placement of treatment via a needle directly into a lesion. Ultrasound is often used in conjunction with our Regenerative Medicine treatments such as IRAP and PRP to target specific injuries. This is most commonly used to treat bicep bursitis and elbow arthritis.
Our high-quality ultrasound services are performed in-house and can be evaluated immediately. In addition, images may be emailed to our network of specialists or our telemedicine service for consultation with board certified veterinary specialists.
