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  • Folly Gardens Vets Facilities
  • Folly Gardens Vets Facilities
  • Folly Gardens Vets Facilities

    Over 30 years of caring for our clients pets’ well-being

  • Folly Gardens Vets Facilities

Folly Gardens Vets have in-house laboratory facilities available at all branches. This means that rapid results can be obtained prior to anaesthesia and in emergency situations to assess your pets’ health status. Appropriate treatment can then be given to your pet as soon as possible.

We are able to offer:

  • Biochemistry – to test the chemicals found in blood e.g. to test for liver or kidney function.
  • Haematology – to look at the cells within the blood e.g. to see if the body is fighting an infection.
  • Electrolytes – to check the hydration levels of the patient e.g. do they require fluid therapy?

We also have the facilities and expertise within our team to carry out the following:

  • Cytology – to examine cell samples taken from the patient.
  • Parasitology – to look for tiny bugs that may be living on the surface of the skin or in the ear of your pet.
  • Urinalysis – to examine the structure and contents of the patient’s urine.

If specialised tests are required, we have access to a wide range of external laboratory test that can be sent off daily.

Please click sections below to see full descriptions:

Diagnostic imaging suite

These facilities house our radiography (X-ray), ultrasound, video endoscope/bronchoscopes and video-otoscope. This equipment is vital as it allows us to have a ‘look on the inside’ without your pet having to undergo surgery.

Radiography (X-ray)

This is one of the modes of diagnostic imaging used most often in veterinary medicine. Radiographs are an excellent way of looking at bones and diagnosing conditions such as fractures, arthritis etc. They are also handy for looking at some soft tissue structures, such as the organs of the abdomen and chest. We often use X-rays to look at patients with gastro intestinal signs, and have seen some very interesting foreign bodies in patients’ stomachs and intestines over the years! From needles to socks, stones to toys we have seen it all (or have we?!)

Just like if you have ever had an X ray, your pet needs to stay very still for the pictures to be taken. For this reason your pet may need a sedation or anaesthetic to allow us to perform these tests safely.

X-ray has its limitation, as with all imaging methods, it is not as useful for looking at the fine detail of soft tissues, such as the internal organs, nerves, cartilage, intervertebral discs etc. For this reason we often use X-ray to diagnose in conjunction with ultrasound scans.

Ultrasonography

Very useful at looking at the soft tissue structures of the body, blood vessels and even cartilage! Just like human mums, ultrasound is a safe and pain free method of pregnancy diagnosis, and we do a lot of puppy and kitten scans. Ultrasound is often used to examine the content of your pets’ abdomen/chest in more detail. From looking at the fine detail of your pet's liver, to being able to monitor and examine your pets heart function in ‘real time’, ultrasound offers a pain free and safe method of imaging. We can even use it to help us take small samples or biopsies from within the body; this is known as ultrasound guided sampling.

Your pet may need a sedation/anaesthetic, especially if they are already ‘under’ for an X-ray, or are very sore. Often we are able to use ultrasound scan in conscious patients, and for that reason is often very handy in the more poorly/elderly or unstable patients.

Video otoscope

We are lucky to have a special ‘otoscope’ or ear scope here at Folly Gardens Vets. This specialist scope is used whilst your pet is under anaesthetic, where a special ear canal exam is needed, or to allow visualisation for ear surgery. The scope is connected to a large TV screen and allows the vets to examine more serious/complicated ears problems more closely.

Bronchoscopy

Just like the endoscope, the bronchoscope is a long tube like camera, which we can pass down the trachea (windpipe) to look into the upper part of the lungs as well as examining the upper airway (larynx/voice box region). We often use this imaging modality in conjunction with a chest X-ray. It is a great tool; we can take cytology samples (looking at the cell populations of the trachea to give us an idea of the problems) look at the state of the tissues and remove foreign bodies. It allows us to look at how the airways are functioning in real time, and confirm diagnosis of certain breathing problems we are suspicious of, such as collapsing tracheas or laryngeal paralysis. Pets need to be anaesthetised for this procedure.

Rhinoscopy

This is a special scope we can insert up the nostrils in an anaesthetised patient, it is super for looking at those patients who are persistently sneezing or have nasal discharge. It is often used in conjunction with X-rays. We have used it very successfully to remove many a nasty grass seed from a dog’s nose, as well as performing biopsies and swabs to aid in diagnosis.

Orthopaedic and soft tissue theatre

Here at Folly Gardens Vets we have the in-house expertise to perform many orthopaedic procedures. Up-to-date training, a wide range of orthopaedic equipment and facilities allow us to perform most orthopaedic surgeries and repairs for example: fracture repairs and stifle (knee) surgeries in our dedicated operating theatre.

Our soft tissue surgeries (such as spays and castrates) are all performed in the dedicated theatre, and with its high spec facilities and hygiene/cleaning regimes gives our surgeons the best facilities to work within. (We note this, as not all vet surgeries have separate areas for surgery, which increases the risk of post op complications, such as infection.)

Dental suite

We have a dedicated dentistry suite as well as modern dental machines for extractions and tooth cleaning. This allows us to perform the highest levels of dental care, such as dental X-rays and surgical tooth extraction.

Referral Ophthalmology

We are fortunate to be able to offer our clients and referred clients excellent ophthalmological care from visiting specialist Jeremy Wills BVSc CertVOphthal MRCVS holds a clinic at Folly Gardens, Walton Cardiff (Tewkesbury ) every Wednesday.

Jeremy set up Veterinary Eye Referrals in order to deliver a high quality medical and surgical eye care service for pets. Facilities include slit lamp biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmology, applanation tonometry, gonioscopy, ocular ultrasonography, microsurgery, ophthalmic photography (including fundus photography) as well as the usual diagnostic stains and tear tests.