Internal Medicine

Referring Veterinarians

Referring a client to Foster Hospital is easy with veterinarian liaison support.

The Internal Medicine Service is led by faculty who are board-certified in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Supporting them are trained technicians, interns, residents, students and staff within a state-of-the-art facility for providing diagnosis and advanced patient care.

The service handles a variety of clinical cases. Dogs and cats—approximately 95% of the small animal hospital caseload—range from client-owned pets to working dogs, from newborn kittens and puppies to geriatric cats and dogs. Our clinicians treat problems of the internal organ systems, including respiratory (pneumonia), neurological, gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhea), kidney, infectious diseases, disease of the liver (from congenital shunts to chronic inflammation) and other conditions that need medical attention.

We can provide intensive care for around-the-clock observation and treatment of critical patients. Some of the special procedures that can be performed include dialysis for acute kidney injury, laser lithotripsy for bladder stones, laparoscopic liver biopsy, urethral bulking agent injections for urinary incontinence, coil placement for liver shunts, gastrointestinal endoscopy, dietary consultation and obesity management, bronchoscopy and pulmonary function testing, rhinoscopy, and interventional procedures such as stent placement for collapsing trachea or nasopharyngeal stenosis.

Our ability to interact with all the other specialties including board certified pathologists, radiologists and nutritionists give us the ability to handle even the most difficult cases and to provide the most comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plans.

Advanced Techniques in Internal Medicine

Respiratory Tract
- Pulmonary function testing
- Bronchoscopy
- Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)
- Rhinoscopy
- Sinus trephination
- Laryngeal examination
- Medical management of collapsing trachea
- Interventional stent placement for tracheal collapse or stricture (see IR/IE webpage)
Liver Diseases
- Management of acute liver injury
- Management of chronic liver disease
- Ultrasound guided liver biopsy
- Laparoscopic liver biopsy
Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Upper Endoscopy
- Lower Endoscopy
- Capsule Endoscopy
- Esophageal and colonic stent placement
- Esophageal and colonic ballooning
- Electrocautery snare colonic polyp removal
- Barium study
- Fluoroscopic swallow studies
Nephrology/Urology
- Nephrology
  - Medical management of Acute Kidney Injury
  - Medical management of Chronic Kidney Disease
  - Medical management of Systemic Hypertension
  - Medical management of Protein-losing Nephropathy
  - Ultrasound guided kidney biopsy with comprehensive histopathological diagnostic review
  - Iohexol clearance GFR studies
  - Nuclear medicine GFR Scans
Extracorporeal Therapy
- Intermittent hemodialysis
- Prolonged intermittent hemodialysis (PIRRT)
- Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)
- Hemodiafiltration
- Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE)
- Hemoperfusion
- Peritoneal Dialysis
Urology
- Medical Management or Urolithiasis
- Voiding urohydropropulsion
- Cystoscopy
- Vaginoscopy
- Subcutaneous Ureteral Bypass device placement (SUB)
- Fluoroscopic voiding studies
- Contrast cystourethrograms
- Contrast CT scans
- Diagnostic Workup of Urinary Incontinence
- Diagnostic Workup of Ectopia
- Laser ablation (Diode and Holmium: Yag Lasers)
- Interventional Endourology – (See IR/IE webpage)