08 9393 3373
08 9393 3373
08 9393 3373
VETERINARY HOSPITAL
REFERRAL SERVICE
West Coast Veterinary Hospital has an extensive veterinary and nursing team which allows us to treat a variety of both routine and emergency clinical conditions. We work closely with referral primary vets on a daily basis for both small animals and large. Our location for equine clients makes access easy with close proximity to both the Tonkin Highway and the Kwinana Freeway. There is also plenty of room for transport trucks to drop off and get exit.
Equine routine referrals:
Nuclear Scintigraphy:
Nuclear Scintigraphy is the most effective method for visualising inflammation in the bone of the equine upper limb, pelvis and spine. It is a vital tool for the correct diagnosis of complex, multi-site, upper limb, or spinal lamenesses. Installed and commissioned in early 2017, our facility is the only operational equine bone scanner in Western Australia. It features the most advanced camera and scanning system currently available in the world. The scanning process is extremely safe and does not involve a general anaesthetic. Horses undergoing bone scanning will be admitted to hospital for approximately 2.5 days, usually arriving the afternoon before the scan is scheduled to occur. At the conclusion of the scan, horses will remain admitted to hospital for 48 hours to allow the nu clear-tagged inflammatory marker to decay to less-than-background radiation levels.
Bone marrow and stem cell therapy:
A range of regewnwerative medicines are available at west coast vet hospital. These include, but are not limited to Bone marrow therapy, Stem cell therapy and PRP.
Most horses can be dropped off the day of treatment and are ready to go home that afternoon. The majority of these procedures can be performed safely under sedation and local anesthesia
Equine surgery:
West Coast Vets provides specialist surgery
referrals for cases such as;
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Orthopaedics (fractures)
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Castrations / Rigs
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Laryngeal / Sinus
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Arthroscopy
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Laparoscopy
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Laser
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Gastrointestinal (colic
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Intensive management and limb deformities in foals:
We have extensive experience with the treatment and management of Angular and Flexural limb deformities in foals. We provide routine transphyseal briding techniques, periosteal stripping and corrective farriery. Surgeries to treat a range of flexural limb deformities are also available. We provide 24/7 in-hospital care for any animal that require additional medical management. We are also available to treat these issues in calves.
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Lameness:
Dr Maxwell Hall is an Equine Specialist Surgeon and has extensive experience with lameness issues in standardbred, thoroughbreds, sport horses and pleasure horses.
He specialises in complex lameness issues that may have been previously undiagnosable or originating from multiple limbs.
Dynamic Scope:
West Coast Veterinary Hospital are proud to add another diagnostic modality alongside the Nuclear Scintigraphy suite, MRI, Radiography and Ultrasonography. The Dynamic Equine Exercise Scope is a game changer for analysing upper airway issues in equine athletes when in work. Airway issues are common in sporthorses and racing horses and can effect performance and general health.
As seen in the demonstration video the Dynamic Scope can be used under saddle (or in the case of a racehorse in harness or during pace work). As the horse is working the below vision can been seen and recorded with the scope in place picking up any abnormalities in the airway which can be causing performance issues. Dynamic Scopes can be performed by our team in hospital or on road.
MRI
We are proud to offer referrals for equine MRI scans of distal limbs, from the foot to the knee or hock. The MRI modality shows the structures of the limb with excellent detail, giving unparalleled information regarding anatomical pathology. MRI technology is the "gold standard" in medical imaging. The most common MRI diagnoses are; foot injuries, suspensory ligament injuries, navicular bone degeneration, DDFT tendonitis, collateral ligament desmitis, traumatic arthritis, phalangeal bone bruises and navicular collateral desmitis.
The MRI scans are performed under a short general anesthitic with the affected limb be placed into the MRI unit. Once the images have been obtained your horse will recover in a padded recover box.
Our O-scan Equine MRI unit delivers exceptional performance and image quality. It is capable of generating standard high resolution sequences, as well as advanced 3D sequences, SHARC sequences for articular cartilage evaluation, and XBONE sequences to evaluate bone marrow oedema and soft tissue structures.
Equine emergency referrals:
Colic surgery:
West Coast Veterinary Hospital offer a 24/7 emergency surgery facility for colic surgery cases. A specialist surgeon and experienced nursing team create a first class clinical team.
Prompt referral and surgical intervention can significantly reduce the risk of complications and improve the chances of success of colic surgery.
Our hospital is equiped with equine stalls with rubber flooring and IV fluids. Staff are on site 24/7 for overnight checks as well as in built night-vision cameras.
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Lacerations and Wounds:
Arthroscopy and emergency surgery is available to all laceration, wounds and joint penetrations. The hospital is staffed 24/7 and is able to cater for these emergencies.
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Tenoscopy is also available for tendon sheath lacerations.
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The MRI machine can be used as-required to be used in all of the above cases.
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Colitis and Isolation Cases
Isolation cases such as colitis and pneumonia's can be catered for with our purpose built isolation stall equiped with fluid and reverse cycle air conditioning making sure we can keep each individual patient as stable as possible. Individual scrub down sinks and drainage ensures the safety and protection of our other in hospital patients.
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Fracture Repair:
We offer state-of-the-art service for fracture repairs. This includes standing repairs of some fractures under local anesthetic and sedation which is the preferred method as equine athletes don't need to recover from a general anesthetic.
Small animal referrals:
Orthopaedics
We offer several options for cruciate repair. TPLOs and De-angelis techniques are available with our experienced vets.
Emergency fracture repair is available 24/7, weekends and public holidays. This for for both simple and complex fractures.
Online second opinions are also available if radiographs are sent via email.
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Abdominal Surgery
West Coast Vet offer emergency abdominal surgery 24/7. Our vets are experienced in everything from caesarians to GDV/Bloats surgery and removal of foreign bodies from the intestines. Our state-of-the-art facility is also available for after-care and treatment of these cases.
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Ultrasound and radiography is performed in-house and results are back within minutes to aid with a correct diagnosis.
Brain MRI:
Brain MRI's are available for dogs and cats. The main use for these scans is to successfully detect any brain tumors or sinus issues. Magnetic resonance imaging is the newest diagnostic imaging being used for both humans and dogs. It gives high quality soft tissue detail allowing a diagnosis to be made. For more information regarding MRI please phone the hospital on 9393 3373.
