Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Thornton
Our Thornton vets use digital radiographs and other technologies for diagnostic imaging and advanced testing. These technologies provide us with vital information about your pet's health and internal structures.
At Caring Hands Veterinary Hospital, we have advanced tools to help accurately diagnose your pet's medical issues. We offer a variety of services, from digital radiology to ultrasounds and EKGs.
With the technology available in our veterinary diagnostic laboratory, we can efficiently produce accurate diagnostic information about your pet's condition and provide immediate treatment options.
If your pet needs a test that we are unable to conduct at our in-house lab we will refer you and your pet to an external diagnostic lab with the appropriate imaging technology, or send a blood, urine, or biopsy sample from your pet to an external veterinary diagnostic testing facility in the Denver area.
In-House Lab & Veterinary Pharmacy in Thornton
We perform tests and get results quickly in our in-house laboratory so that we can diagnose your dog or cat's symptoms and begin treatment as soon as possible.
Our pet pharmacy in Thornton is stocked with a range of prescription diets and medications, providing us with quick access to any medications your pet may need to treat an illness or to improve their overall health.
Our Diagnostic Services
With our in-house veterinary diagnostics lab, we are pleased to offer advanced diagnostic testing to allow our vets to provide an accurate diagnosis of your pet's medical issues.
- Radiography (Digital X-Rays)
Using a radiograph (digital x-ray), we can examine your pet's internal systems to reveal information that may be invisible from the outside.
Radiography is safe, painless, and non-invasive. It uses only very low doses of radiation. Because the level of radiation exposure required to perform radiography is very low, even pregnant females and very young pets can undergo this procedure.
Radiographs can be used to evaluate bones and organs, and diagnose conditions including broken bones, chronic arthritis, bladder stones, spinal cord diseases, and some tumors.
- Digital Dental X-Rays
If your cat or dog is suffering from periodontal disease, much of this damage occurs below the gum line where it can't be easily seen. Digital dental X-Rays help our veterinarians assess your pet's oral health.
Digital X-Rays are safer for your pet. They allow our team of veterinary professionals to examine the roots, bones, and internal anatomy of your cat or dog's teeth.
With digital X-Rays, the risk of radiation exposure for your pet is significantly lower than with traditional X-Ray technology. We can see below the surface of your pet's gum line to fully evaluate each tooth.
This technology allows your Thornton vet to see results immediately, then project them onto a computer screen to review.
- Ultrasound
The use of diagnostic imaging allows our team of veterinary professionals to create extremely detailed images of your pet's internal structures.
With ultrasound imaging, we expose part of the body to high-frequency sound waves to produce images of the inside of the body.
Because we capture ultrasound images in real time, we can see the structure and movement of your pet's internal organs, as well as blood flowing through the blood vessels.
Having this valuable technology available to our vets in our in-house lab means that your dog or cat's condition can be diagnosed quickly and treatment can start sooner.
- Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram is a diagnostic tool that allows your vet to look closely at your pet's heart as well as inside and around it.
An echo uses high-frequency sound waves to create real-time images, providing your veterinarian with insight into what your dog or cat's heart looks like and how it is functioning.
This diagnostic tool provides information about the size, shape, and function of your pet's heart, its four chambers, the heart valves, and surrounding structures such as the pericardial sac.
- ECG / EKG
If your veterinarian performs a physical examination and suspects your pet may have a heart disorder, we usually take chest X-Rays and an electrocardiogram (ECG / EKG).
This procedure can be completed easily and quickly. It reveals data that may be integral to your pet's diagnosis. In other cases, a cardiac ultrasound may be required to identify disorders in the chambers of the heart.
- Bloodwork
At our vet lab in Thornton, we can run several common and specialized blood tests to determine the health of your pet and to diagnose illness.
Some of the most common veterinary blood tests we do are CBC (complete blood count), white blood count, hemoglobin and MCHC, hematocrit, platelets, eosinophils, and blood serum profile.
- Urinalysis
Urinalysis is a key diagnostic test that provides your vet with essential insights into the physical and chemical properties of your pet's urine.
Urinalysis is primarily used to assess the health of your animal's kidneys and urinary tract system, but it can also help detect issues in other organ systems and is important for diagnosing metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
This is a valuable diagnostic test for both healthy and sick animals and should be included in any comprehensive evaluation of your pet's overall health.
- Fecal Exams
A fecal exam is the microscopic examination of your pet's feces, which can be done at our in-house vet lab in Thornton.
The ultimate goal of a fecal exam is to identify and treat any GI infections that could be compromising your pet's health and even the health of your family. Fecals allow your vet to determine if your pet has intestinal parasites such as roundworms or hookworms.
Parasites can make pets uncomfortable, irritable, and lead to more serious conditions. Some can even be transmitted to humans.
Since these parasites live in your pet’s gastrointestinal tract, they are often hidden from view. The only way to detect them is with a fecal exam.
Annual fecal examinations should be a vital part of every pet's routine wellness exam.