Preventing and Treating Ear Disease
Dr. Divine has been treating pets with ear disease for over 30 years. Ear drum identification and evaluation is critical to help differentiate outer and middle ear conditions. Usually this requires an endoscope. Anesthesia is required to view the ear in these instances. We have the latest endoscopic equipment and are able to video record the procedures for your review.
Veterinary Internal Medicine
Despite the best preventive care, animals can become sick. When this happens, it is stressful for both you and your pet, especially because you can't simply ask your companion what's wrong. You need a skilled veterinarian whom you can trust to accurately diagnose and effectively treat your pet.
While the focus at Divine Animal Hospital is your pet's wellness, an important part of the hospital's services is the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of diseases that can affect your pet's internal organs and body systems. The experienced veterinarians at the hospital, supported by advanced diagnostic technology, are able to identify and effectively treat a range of complex internal medicine diseases.
After performing a thorough examination, diagnostic tests are typically necessary in order to identify the underlying cause of your pet's illness.
Treating Your Pet's Cancer
The standard treatment for almost all pet cancers is surgical removal of the lump. Benign (non-invasive, non-spreading) cancers in an accessible, well-defined area are almost always permanently cured by surgical removal. Surgery is also the best treatment for the majority of malignant cancers that have not yet spread (metastasized). Complex procedures may require referral to a specialist. Recovery from most surgery is rapid and post-surgical pain is controllable using appropriate medications.
Veterinary Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy for pets has been designed to improve quality of life and maximize lifespans. The veterinarians at Divine Animal Hospital develop individualized chemotherapy treatments to help minimize side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea and lowered resistance to infection. These effects can be moderated or eliminated by use of appropriate medications and adjustment of the chemotherapy protocol.
Pet Radiation Treatment
Radiation treatment is the use of high-energy radiation that injures cancer cells' DNA. Unfortunately, normal healthy cells can also be damaged or destroyed by the radiation, particularly cells that make up your pet's intestinal lining, bone marrow and immune system.
Before making the decision on the appropriate course of action for your pet, please discuss all of the relevant factors with the hospital's medical team so you can make an informed choice. Veterinary medicine's understanding of cancer is evolving all the time, leading to better treatment, quality of life and improved outcomes.
Pet Ophthalmology
The veterinarians and medical team at Divine Animal Hospital routinely treat common eye diseases and injuries. We have the capabilities to provide corneal and eyelid surgery for most conditions, and we can provide diagnostics such as ultrasound, wide retinal visualization and medical therapy for internal eye disease.
If required, your veterinarian will refer you to a board certified veterinarian ophthalmologist for conditions such as cataract surgery, cornel transplant, retinal detachment laser procedure and other uncommon eye diseases.
Class IV Laser Therapy
Reducing pain and promoting healing is a top priority at Divine Animal Hospital in Vero Beach. To that end, we have invested in a Class IV therapeutic laser, which we use on patients following surgery or an injury to help manage a range of chronic and acute conditions.
Laser therapy is a painless, FDA-approved medical procedure that uses low-level lasers to stimulate the natural healing capabilities of the body's cells. This form of laser therapy is effective at promoting healing on a cellular level as well as decreasing inflammation after surgery, injury or areas of the body affected by chronic illnesses such as arthritis or acute conditions such as otitis. It can also be used to increase joint mobility and relieve the aches and pains common to geriatric pets.
Piezo Wave Therapy in Vero Beach
In order to remain at the forefront of veterinary technological advances, we have invested in Piezo Wave Therapy. This state-of-the-art technology provides non-invasive, safe shockwave therapy that treats a variety of conditions including chronic back pain, tendonitis, wound healing and more.
Your Pet's Nutrition
A balanced diet along with fresh, clean water is an essential ingredient for your pet’s overall good health. As your pet's caregiver, nutrition is the most significant health variable that you control. Feeding your pet the highest-quality food you can afford is one of the best ways you can contribute to his or her health and vitality.
To support your efforts, the doctors at Divine Animal Hospital perform a thorough body condition evaluation during each physical examination and give recommendations based on what they see. We can also provide you with important information on proper serving size, nutrient needs and feeding strategies for your individual pet.
Prescription Diets
Some pets have serious nutritional challenges or chronic conditions that benefit from a special diet. When that is the case, we may recommend feeding a special prescription diet. Divine Animal Hospital carries a diverse inventory of prescription foods and high-quality nutritional products. If your pet requires a prescription diet we do not carry, we can easily order it for you.
Stem Cell Therapy
Dr. Divine has been performing stem cell therapy for 15 years, providing pets with yet another therapy option that can lead to better well-being.
What is Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cell therapy uses undifferentiated cells from your pet's body to repair and regenerate damaged tissues. This form of treatment is most commonly used to relieve osteoarthritis in dogs and cats, but clinical research continues to explore other uses for stem cells, including repairing bone, ligament and spinal cord injuries and treating kidney and liver disease.
The decision to use stem cell therapy is based on your pet's specific condition, age, breed, previous treatment and response, severity and duration and anesthesia/sedation risk. A full examination and consultation are necessary before proceeding with this innovative medical treatment.
Digital Radiology
X-rays, are one of the most common and useful diagnostic tools in medicine because of their ability to penetrate tissues and show your pet's organs and bones. We use X-rays to help identify and diagnose a number of medical conditions affecting your pet's lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity, bladder, kidneys and other areas, as well as for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. If we suspect your pet has a fractured bone, has swallowed a foreign object, or is suffering from a heart problem, an X-ray can tell us what we need to know.
There are many important advantages to digital veterinary X-rays:
- They are immediately able to be viewed on a computer monitor.
- The clear, detailed images can be manipulated to get a better view of your pet's bones and internal organs, leading to a faster and more accurate diagnosis.
- They take less time to process, which means less stress for you and your pet.
- No harsh chemicals are needed to develop the images.
- If a second opinion is necessary, digital X-rays can be sent by email to a specialist.
Veterinary Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a painless, safe, non-invasive procedure that we use to evaluate your pet's internal organs. It is one of the many ways we strive to give you peace of mind when it comes to your pet's health. Using sound waves, ultrasound produces a real-time moving picture of your pet's organs that allows us to visualize objects that cannot be detected by X-rays alone.
At Divine Animal Hospital, we use ultrasound to assess the shape, size, tissue density, internal structure and position of your pet's abdominal organs and diagnose pregnancy. It can also be used to identify masses or tumors and as a guide during surgical biopsies. We recommend screening for pets 7 and up.
Veterinary Endoscopy
Endoscopy is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure commonly used to evaluate the interior surfaces of your pet's organs through a small tube inserted into his or her body. An endoscopic examination can often accurately diagnose what is causing your pet's vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal pain or swelling, loss of appetite or respiratory problems. It can also be used to collect biopsy samples and remove foreign objects, small polyps or tumors.
Although anesthesia is required to keep pets still during the endoscopic procedure, the recovery time is minimal. The benefits of endoscopy over exploratory surgery include no surgical incision, shortened anesthetic time, decreased inflammation, less stress and discomfort and an earlier return to normal function for your pet.
Pet Diagnostic Laboratory
Because maintaining your pet's health is a top priority at the hospital, we have a complete in-house diagnostic laboratory that allows us to perform a wide range of tests on blood, urine, feces and biopsied tissue. Without timely access to these precise test results, it would be difficult to make an accurate diagnosis or assessment of your pet's health. Test results can also help us in the early detection of diseases and other conditions affecting your pet's health and well-being.
Laboratory testing provides information about your pet's overall systemic health without the need for invasive and expensive procedures. Thanks to the Divine Animal Hospital's in-house veterinary diagnostic laboratory, we are able to deliver your pet's test results quickly—often within a few minutes—minimizing the time you need to wait for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.