Internal Medicine
Bellevue Veterinary Emergency + Specialty has a Board-Certified Internist on staff dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of complex diseases associated with the external and internal organ systems, as well as hormonal variabilities and abnormalities of the body.
What does an Internist do?
Veterinary Internists work closely with pet owners, and a multidisciplinary team in developing a diagnostic plan to evaluate systemic diseases, as well as establish individualized treatment plans, to attempt to resolve a diagnosed disease or manage a diagnosed disease or ongoing clinical problems. Both the diagnostic plans and treatment plans may involve the incorporation of other services, such as imaging, surgery, pathology, oncology, cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology and neurology in establishing treatment regimens.
Internists apply their expertise in gastroenterology, hepatology (diseases associated with the liver), pulmonology (lung and respiratory diseases) and nasal pathology, hematology, urology (kidney and lower urinary tract diseases), endocrinopathies (hormonal diseases), autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, some reproductive diseases and knowledge in veterinary pathophysiology and anatomy, as well as animal behavior to provide an evidence-based approach in addressing your companion animal’s needs relative to ongoing care and preventative medicine.
The goal of an internist is to directly treat your pet’s ongoing systemic disease, anticipate potential impediments relative to these treatments, and to communicate goals and expectations of treatment with you, over time. Internists take a direct, but empathetic and sympathetic approach in determining what will make your companion animal most comfortable, while ensuring appropriate care, and providing a plan that is most practical and achievable for you and your pet.
What to Expect
When visiting a veterinary internist, you can expect a detail-oriented approach to evaluating your companion animal’s historical clinical progression, environmental exposures, and travel and medical history, so it is always beneficial for you and your pet if you have a generalized idea as to the progression of your pet’s clinical signs and any treatment protocols that have already been implemented. Despite this, the veterinary internist will thoroughly review all records available, prior to your pet’s visit.
On the day of the appointment, a complete physical examination will be performed on your pet, either in the examination room, or your pet will be escorted back to a treatment area to allow for a more thorough examination in a comforting environment for your pet. The examination will focus on all organ systems accessible, but with a more direct focus on the organ systems associated with the presenting problem. You will then have a discussion in which prior diagnostic tests may be reviewed, examination findings will be presented, historical facts will be confirmed, and pathophysiology of potential differentials for the disease processes your pet may be experiencing will be reviewed.
You will also have the opportunity to discuss concerns, and you can always feel free to ask questions at any time throughout the consultation. Based on all the acquired information, a differential list and a plan for a diagnostic work up will be formulated. After you have completed your discussion with the internist, you will have an opportunity to again review the plan with the technician on the Internal Medicine service.
Diagnostic testing may, at times, involve very brief evaluations and your pet may be discharged with you immediately after the consult, or the internist may recommend that your pet be hospitalized with the Internal Medicine service for the day to have sampling and procedures performed, as some of the diagnostic testing involve time-sensitive procedures. The internist will then develop a plan tailored to your pet’s specific needs, considering all historic and current diagnostic results, your pet’s overall health, your pet’s ability to tolerate certain treatments, and your ability to implement these treatments and provide the care necessary.
As several of the cases seen through the Internal Medicine service require long term management, occasionally, adjunctive diagnostic testing and follow up will be necessary in ensuring that your pet remains stable and comfortable, but this also allows for a well-established relationship and excellent continuity of care between your pet and you and the Internal Medicine team. Overall, the Internal Medicine team will endeavor to implement therapies to maintain a good quality of life for your pet, while continuing to provide guidance, as you and your pet maneuver through a challenging time.
What are some of the procedures that Internists perform?
- Rhinoscopy and Pharyngoscopy
- Bronchoscopy
- Endoscopy – Gastroscopy, Duodenoscopy, Ileoscopy, Colonoscopy, Proctoscopy
- Cystoscopy and Urethroscopy
- Vaginoscopy
- Arthrocentesis
- Thoracocentesis
- Abdominocentesis
- Bone Marrow Sampling – Aspirates and Core Biopsies
Limited Biopsies - Feeding Tube Placement
If you do not note the procedure, in the above list, you are being referred to an Internal Medicine service for, please feel free to reach out to inquire if the service is offered.
Kayode Garraway
MS DVM DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
Internist
Dr. Garraway spent the earlier years of his life in the Caribbean and received his veterinary degree from St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada in 2013 and received board certification in internal medicine in 2019.
