Speciality Services
Just like in human medicine, sometimes our pets need the help of a specialist.
We’re lucky enough at St Ives Veterinary Hospital to work closely with leading veterinary specialists in their fields, meaning we can provide you with all the best advice and options for your pet’s treatment.
We not only offer referrals to specialist hospitals and provide follow up treatment but also have some amazing specialist services available in our very own clinic. This means your pet is treated and cared for in a familiar environment, with our familiar faces and often much closer to home.
Consulting Animal Specialists
Dr Eugene Buffa and his specialist surgical team come to us to perform complex surgeries here in our clinic, as well as offering specialist surgical consults here if required. Our most common reasons for calling Dr Eugene include orthopaedic issues such as cruciate ligament, patella and hip issues.
Positive Pets Behaviour Vet
One of our amazing vets Dr Vanessa Reid also runs her own behaviour practice! While she does not see pets in our clinic for behaviour problems, she does offer home visits through her business. As a fear-free certified vet, her aim is to address the underlying reasons that pets behave in a certain way. The process involves in-depth consultation with a pet’s family and working together to create a specific management plan. This often involves environmental changes and positive behaviour modification techniques. Your pet’s treatment plan may also include medications if necessary, and medication plans prescribed for your pet by Dr Vanessa can be continued by the rest of our team at St Ives Veterinary Hospital.
The Vet’s North
Dr Anna Dengate is an amazing Internal Medicine specialist who heads up the Vet’s North team of specialists and sonographers. Her team provides ultrasound and other diagnostics such as ultrasound guided biopsies whist keeping your pet in the comfort of their own vet clinic. Sonographers performing abdominal and cardiac (echo cardiogram) imaging for us which is then reviewed and reported on by Internal medicine specialists much like when humans get these tests done. These specialists provide our vets with detailed reports, specialist advice and treatment plans. This enables a collaborative diagnostic approach.
Dr Anna Dengate has also established and is on the board of a wonderful charity called “For the Love of Dogs: which aims to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to work with dogs. Participants can develop new skills and qualifications, build confidence and enjoy the companionship of dogs and other animal -loving humans.
They also offer a dermatology telehealth service with board-certified veterinary dermatologist Dr Alex Moore. This can be extremely helpful for both those frustrating chronic skin and ear problems, and for rarer more complex dermatological disease.
Specialist Hospital Referrals & Advice
In some circumstances, our vets may recommend referring your pet to a specialist outside of our clinic. In Sydney we are lucky to have many different specialist hospitals available for patient referral, but some of these clinics also provide our vets with a phone service to discuss complex specialist cases, which allows us to create the very best diagnostic and treatment plans possible in any GP clinic.
If your pet is referred to a specialist hospital for treatment, the specialist will provide our team with regular updates on their condition and treatment so that we can often continue their check-ups and care here according to the specialist recommendations.
We are happy to collaborate with any specialist hospital that owners choose to visit, but our main specialist referrals are sent to The Pet Specialists (TPS), Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH), and Eye Clinic for Animals.
