VETERINARY DERMATOLOGY
Skin problems are a prevalent problem in our pets.
Allergies, autoimmune diseases or endocrine disorders can manifest themselves just on the skin. Inflammation of the ear canals, claw problems or nodular lesions should direct our steps to this specialist.
Veterinarian Marta Meissner, a specialist in diseases of dogs and cats, conducts dermatological consultations at SASKAVET.
It is necessary to make an appointment in advance, and we advise you to make an appointment at the Clinic’s reception desk or by phone.
Remember to book a minimum of 1 hour for your first visit and be prepared for it.
- Treatment history on paper (medical institutions do not accept removable media, such as flash drives), preferably in chronological order,
- A list of drugs and supplements that are currently being taken and have been used in the past, with the time of use and dose marked (unless we have it all in the history of treatment),
- Information about the prophylaxis against external and internal parasites,
- When and how the skin care was
The consultation is only possible in the patient’s presence.
Take into account that before the first visit, your pet should fast- if necessary, it will enable you to proceed with additional tests during the visit.
Additional tests performed during dermatological consultations:
- Needle skin biopsies
Using a needle, cellular material is taken from the inside of nodular skin lesions.
The collected material is applied to a slide, fixed and stained with particular reagents. The slides are usually assessed already during the consultation!
- Cytological test
It is a microscopic examination of the material collected during the visit.
Collected cells, after fixation, are subjected to staining and microscopic evaluation. We use this method to diagnose inflammation of the ear canals or skin diseases.
- Trichogram
It’s an evaluation of the hair under a microscope.
By looking at the hair under magnification, we can determine the phase of hair growth and its structure and find skin parasites such as Demodex or Cheyletiella.
- Scrapings
It is taking material for examination using a blunt blade. The scraping allows you to take the deeper layers of the epidermis, where external parasites live
- Video otoscopy
It examines the external auditory canals using a video otoscope, i.e. a speculum ended with a camera and a light source.
We perform them when we suspect the presence of a foreign body, rupture of the tympanic membrane, and the diagnosis of inflammation of the ear canals.
Thanks to the monitor, which is connected to the video otoscope, the image and the doctor can also be viewed by the animal’s guardian.
Additional tests requiring prior appointment:
- Skin clippings and trephine biopsies
These procedures are performed under local or general anaesthesia, depending on the location of the lesion and the patient’s attitude. 😉
The collected material is sent to specialist reference laboratories in Poland or Germany, where the sample is subjected to histopathological examination.
The waiting time for the result is about 14 days, but the diagnosis received is much more accurate than the one based on cytological examination.
- Intradermal allergy tests
We perform them in dogs suspected of being allergic to inhalant allergens.
We perform tests under general anaesthesia. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the animal for the procedure correctly.
We perform tests through intradermal punctures, which may cause discomfort in the conscious dog. At the beginning of the examination, we shave the dog’s hair on an area of 15x15cm, most often on the side of the body, then we determine where allergens are applied, and after 15 minutes, we read the skin reaction.
The animal subjected to tests for at least three weeks before the examination may not take any steroid drugs, and thanks to that, the result will be reliable.
In cats, intradermal tests are not recommended because they have low reliability.
