Dermatology
Referral dermatology clinics for Yorkshire and the North East
We are delighted to provide dermatology clinics for our referral patients from across North Yorkshire and the North East.
Our dermatology service is designed to help vets whose patients are coping with ongoing skin and coat conditions including ear disease.
Who can benefit from the dermatology clinics
- Patients with itchy skin
- Dogs and cats with sore ears
- Hair loss patients
- Dogs and cats with immune mediated disease
- Neoplastic skin conditions (with occasional support from the surgical team)
What's involved in the initial consultation?
During the initial consultation, our experienced vets will take a comprehensive history of your patient’s ongoing skin condition which may involve questions about your client’s home and your patient’s day to day routine and environment.
We will examine your patient’s skin, including their ears, and samples may be taken for cytology as well as hair plucks and swabs for bacteria or yeast.
In some cases we may advise your patient would benefit from some surgical skin biopsies.
Treatment options
There are many different recommendations that might be made. Below are just a few examples of the treatment options that might help an individual pet.
Skin biopsy
This involves taking multiple 'punches' of your patient’s skin in order to look at the histopathology.
This diagnostic test can help us diagnose immune mediated skin disease such as lupus and pemphigus whilst ruling out neoplastic underlying causes.
This procedure is carried out as a day patient service, under sedation and results can often take up to 5-10 working days.
Medication
Many different drugs are available to manage and control both acute and chronic skin disease.
They can be used temporarily while other treatments take effect, or longer term to enable the patient to have a better quality of life.
The exact drugs that may be suitable vary from condition to condition and from individual to individual.
The benefits and side effects of each one will be discussed at length during the clinics.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a common method of controlling allergic skin disease.
Bloods can be taken from your patient and analysed against common allergens such as grasses, pollens, mites and moulds. We can then use this data to identify allergens specific for your patient to create a specific vaccine.
The immunotherapy vaccine can then be administered monthly by our team to help desensitise your patient over a period of 10 months.
Ear cytology
Ears are an extension of the skin and management of long term ear disease is something we are very passionate about.
Ears can become inflamed and/or secondarily infected with bacteria and/or yeast. It is vital we identify the cause of the infection via taking samples from your patient’s ears using a swab.
We can then assess these samples in house and advise sending away for cultures if we suspect something more complex going on.
By identifying the underlying infectious agent, we can target our treatment appropriately achieving the best patient outcome.
Surgical options
Occasionally, our dermatology team are supported by the surgical team offering surgical treatment from chronic ear disease such as lateral wall resections (LWR) and total ear canal ablation (TECA).
To make an enquiry or book an appointment please call 01765 602396 or complete our Referral Form by clicking below.