Beardsen 0141 942 7070
Dumbarton 01389 765555
Muirhead 0141 465 8800
Glenbrae Vet's home page
Beardsen 0141 942 7070
Dumbarton 01389 765555
Muirhead 0141 465 8800

Diagnostic and Surgical

Each client will be involved with an experienced team of vets and nurses

Diagnostic and Surgical

Each client will be involved with an experienced team of vets and nurses

All clinics are equipped with the most modern diagnostic and surgical facilities allowing routine surgery to be done at each site.
Whether your pet needs a routine operation or a more challenging procedure, Glenbrae is equipped to cope with it. Early diagnosis is essential to give your pet the best chance of a full recovery and each clinic has in-house facilities for this purpose.

  • Endoscopy
  • Hospitalisation
  • Laboratory
  • Radiography
  • Surgery
  • Ultrasound

Endoscopy

Endoscopes are long narrow devices used for viewing animals internally. A common human procedure which allows us to view the internal airways and gastrointestinal tract. It also allows us to take biopsies from these areas giving more accurate diagnosis.

This is a minimally invasive procedure which is performed under general anaesthesia.

Hospitalisation

You can be sure they will be made comfortable for their stay with staff looking after all of their needs.

We are fortunate in all clinics to have space for separate dog and cat wards with walk in kennels for our larger patients. Our smaller pets such as rabbits are kept away from dogs and noise to reduce stress. In Bearsden and Muirhead we have isolation facilities so that contagious patients requiring barrier nursing can be kept away from healthy pets.

Our kennels are all stainless steel which allows them to be further cleaned and disinfected between patients. It also acts as an insulator allowing us to keep your pet warm or cool depending on their individual needs.

Each patient will have their cage set for their needs, lined with newspapers to absorb any little accidents, a vet bed which is a specially designed dry to wet bedding to draw moisture away from your pet and keep them warm, comfy and dry. Older patients may require thicker bedding, cats will have litter trays, while rabbits + guinea pigs will have hay + a hiding house, if they like to use a litter tray please let us know. Small rodents will have hamster type cages with sawdust, house and wheel.

Patients are monitored closely by the vet and nurse on duty, this includes regular heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature checks (if required), toilet breaks/ tray clean and of course lots of TLC (our favourite part).

If there is anything special your pet likes to eat or any special commands or tickling spots be sure to tell us to help make your pet feel as at home as can be.

Remember we all have pets and we only know too well how worrying it is to leave them, so we treat all patients as we would our own.

Laboratory

Haematology and electrolytes can be performed in house within minutes. Our Quantum machine is state of the art and allows us to run additional tests including Biochemistry, Thyroid, Bile acids and Urine Protein and Creatinine (UPC) ratios. We have a microscope to allow us to examine skin scrapings for mites and urine samples for crystals. 

What they check

  • Biochemistry – internal organs
  • Haematology – red and white blood cells
  • Urine – infections, crystals, diabetes and kidney function
  • Skin – mites, lice, fleas and ear mites

For tests we cannot run in-house such as lump histology and more in-depth bloods, we are able to package these samples and send them to an external laboratory, receiving results in 3-10 working days.

Radiography

This allows us to take and interpret radiographs in-house. Images are processed digitally giving excellent definition and immediate processing.If required these digital images can be sent to any specialist to facilitate expert diagnosis.

Used daily it is a vital part of our diagnostic process. Most commonly used to assess orthopaedic problems but also useful for soft tissue assessment and internal organ problems such as tumours or ingested foreign bodies.

As our patients have to stay very still for this procedure they will normally be given sedation or a short acting anaesthetic.

Surgery

Procedures range from the routine such as neutering and minor lump removals to the more complex including abdominal surgery, foreign body removal and orthopaedic operations.

Routine procedures can be done at all 3 clinics however for more complicated surgery we may wish to perform that at our main Bearsden surgery to help facilitate intensive care nursing.

Ultrasound

A non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique which can be performed by any of our vets.

We also have a specialist ultrasonographer for more in-depth cases to provide an expert view.

The procedure involves shaving the area required for imaging, applying a thin layer of water based ultrasound gel and then using a crystal probe. The area can be viewed in real time allowing clear visual images of the heart, abdomen and associated organs. This enables diagnosis of conditions including heart disease, pregnancy, digestive tract and bladder disorders.

This method of imaging is favourable over radiography for viewing soft tissue and internal organs, whereas radiography is best for visualising bones.

Specialist ultrasonography is performed at Bearsden.