Internal Medicine
Ultrasound
Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Sean Yoshimoto examines a patient
Welcome to VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital’s Internal Medicine Department. While having to see an internal medicine specialist can be stressful, we are here to make your visit and your pet’s stay as comfortable as possible. Our Internal Medicine Department has specialized technology as well as the expertise to help diagnose and treat your pet, but our mission is also providing you and your pet with compassionate care and the best client service possible.
What Is A Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist?
A board certified veterinary internal medicine specialist is a licensed veterinarian who has completed a one-year internship program followed by a three-year residency in internal medicine. Following successful completion of a comprehensive examination and acceptance of a publication in a peer-reviewed journal, the doctor becomes board certified and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. An internal medicine specialist has advanced training in the following disciplines:
- Endocrinology
- Cardiology
- Gastroenterology
- Hematology (study of the blood)
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Nephrology/Urology
- Neurology
- Respiratory Diseases
- Oncology
Within the discipline of veterinary internal medicine, there are also veterinarians who specialize further in Small Animal Medicine, Cardiology, Neurology, and Oncology.
Why Does My Pet Need A Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist?
Just as your own primary care physician may feel the need to refer you to the care of a specialist from time to time, your general practitioner veterinarian may feel your pet needs a specialist with intensive training and advanced diagnostics and therapies to help diagnose or treat a particularly complicated medical problem. Veterinary Specialists work in concert with primary care physicians to ensure the very best outcome for your pet.
What Health Problems Does A Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist Treat?
Board certified internal medicine specialists are trained to treat the most serious diseases and health problems that affect pets. They are also especially prepared to care for pets that may be facing multiple health problems. Thanks to better health care, more and more pets are living longer lives. As a result, an increasing number of older pets, just like older people, are coping with multiple disease states that can be very difficult to manage. For example, a cat with diabetes may also be suffering from kidney failure, or a dog in heart failure may also be diagnosed with cancer. Internal medicine specialists are uniquely prepared to oversee the care of these complicated cases. In other situations, a younger animal may develop a problem that used to be considered untreatable but is now manageable and perhaps even curable.
Here are some common diseases that frequently lead general practitioner veterinarians and concerned pet owners to seek the expertise of a specialist:
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
- Gastrointestinal Diseases
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Immune Related Disorders
- Kidney Dysfunction
INTERNAL MEDICINE CLIENT RESOURCE LIBRARY
Our Internal Medicine Department offers an array of resources that provide further information to help pet owners become informed about many diseases and health issues affecting pets. Please feel free to browse, view our videos and download any of the documents from our resource library below:
CANINE DIABETES (videos):
- How to give a dog an insulin injection
- How to monitor a dog's blood glucose levels at home
- Answers to common questions about dog diabetes
- Understanding Canine Diabetes 1 (Symptoms and Diagnosis)
- Understanding Canine Diabetes 2 (Daily Life)
- Understanding Canine Diabetes 3 (Diet and Exercise)
- A Happy Life: Sue & Pepper's Real Life Dog Diabetes Story
FELINE DIABETES (videos):
- How to give a cat an insulin injection
- How to monitor a cat's blood glucose level at home
- Answers to common questions about cat diabetes
- Understanding Feline Diabetes 1 (Symptoms and Diagnosis)
- Understanding Feline Diabetes 2 (Daily Life)
- Understanding Feline Diabetes 3 (Diet and Exercise)
Services Offered in Internal Medicine
- Multimodal analgesia
- Diagnosis and management of inappropriate urination/defecation
- Electrocardiography (ECG)
- Blood chemistry analyzer
- Coagulation analyzer
- Hematology analyzer
- In-house STAT laboratory
- Viral testing
- Abdominal ultrasonography-abdominocentesis and cystocentesis
- Thoracic ultrasonography / thoracocentesis
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Computed Tomography (CT scanning)
- Digital radiography
- Doppler ultrasound studies
- Fluoroscopy
- Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration
- Ultrasound-guided biopsy
- Ultrasonography
- Transfusion therapy
- Continuous ECG monitoring and telemetry
- Pulse oximetry and end tidal capnography
- Direct blood pressure monitoring
- Nasal and transtracheal oxygen therapy
- Abdominocentesis
- Thoracocentesis
- Arthrocentesis
- Bronchoscopy
- Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)
- Endo- or trans-tracheal washing
- Esophageal stricture management, including ballooning
- Supplemental feeding tube placement & management
- Diagnosis and medical management of liver shunts
- Radioactive iodine therapy for feline hyperthyroidism
- Esophagoscopy
- Gastroduodenoscopy
- Rhinoscopy
- Endoscopy foreign body removal (esophageal, airway, gastric)
- Colonoscopy
- Cystoscopy
- Tracheal stent placement
- Urethral stent placement
- Stent placement (tracheal, urethral, ureteral)
- Thrombolysis
- Angiography
- Vascular and airway foreign body removal
- Nasojejunal tube placement
- Seizure diagnosis and management
- Non-surgical spinal cord disease diagnosis and management
- Neuromuscular disease diagnosis and management
- Cerebrospinal fluid collection and analysis
- Brain and spinal MRI
- Myelography
- CT Myelography
- CT scan (brain, bullae, skull, spine)
- Partial and complete parenteral nutrition
- Bone Marrow Aspirate
- Cancer Staging
- Chemotherapy
- Metronomic therapy
- Immunotherapy
- Stem cell therapy
- Bone Biopsy
- Tissue biopsies
- Genetic screening
- Neonatal critical care
- Laparoscopy
