Veterinary Specialty Care? Is Never More Important Than When It's For Someone Very Special
Neurology-Neurosurgery
The neurological and neurosurgical service at Dogs and Cats Veterinary Referral is committed to providing excellent and compassionate care for the neurological and neurosurgical veterinary patient under the care of our board certified veterinary neurologist and neurosurgeon Dr. Jay McDonnell. We have a range of diagnostic services available for complete neurological workups.
Services available include:
Vertebral and spinal cord evaluation in our radiological suite complete with fluoroscopy.
Cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid collection and on-site evaluation.
Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing for deafness in individual dogs and litters of puppies for breeders.
Neuromuscular studies including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, nerve and muscle biopsies.
Anesthesia and surgery: we have a complete neurosurgical suite. Both isoflurane and sevoflurane are available for the safest and most effective anesthesia. Mechanical ventilators are commonly used to increase safety. Monitoring methods for animal under anesthesia include electrocardiogram (EKG), blood pressure, expired carbon dioxide, oxygen saturation, temperature, pulse and respiration.
Magnetic resonance imaging, we utilize the Iams Imaging Service in Vienna, VA. We can arrange a taxi service for your clients through our clinic. Even though the imaging is in Virginia, we have access to real-time imaging results to assist the imaging center to get the best and most useful images.
Treatment Services
Spinal surgery commonly performed includes:
hemilaminectomy, laminectomy for treatment of intervertebral disk herniation, tumors, spinal cord stenosis and syringomyelia
surgical repair of spinal fractures and dislocations.
spinal stabilization for atlanto-axial subluxation and Wobbler's syndrome.
Brain surgery
craniotomy for tumor removal, biopsy and decompression.
ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement.
Chiari-like malformation
Seizure treatment
Diagnostic procedures which may include laboratory work-up, chest and abdomen imaging, brain imaging (MRI or CT) and spinal fluid analysis to evaluate for inflammation.
Medical and surgical treatment guidance based on results of diagnostic testing and seizure log review.
We support and refer patients for specific supportive care:
Physical therapy and rehabilitation
Alternative medicine including acupuncture and herbal medicine
