Our Services

As the DIGEST clinic has formed from members of staff particularly interested in providing the best possible care for dogs and cats with gastrointestinal problems, we aim to offer a holistic and thorough approach to diagnosis and treatment of gut conditions. Whether this is a primary concern for an individual animal or whether it is part of a more complex medical problem, we offer consultations (for cases from referring veterinarians as well as in-house to other specialist services), novel treatment approaches and feeding plans for our patients. Every consult is directly supervised or performed by one of our specialists in small animal internal medicine (RCVS recognised specialist, Diplomate of the European or American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine).

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As an example, a "typical" consult for a dog or cat with chronic gastrointestinal problems (like vomiting, diarrhoea or weight loss) would initially consist of a thorough physical examination (including belly pain scoring, see more information here), a comprehensive blood profile analysis, special blood tests for diseases of other organs that can also cause gut trouble (for example pancreas disease testing, blood vitamin levels, tests for infections), followed by a full abdominal ultrasound examination (including CEUS) and other diagnostic imaging tests as indicated. In most cases, the dog or cat will stay with us overnight, to then have an endoscopy (looking into the stomach or gut with a camera) performed the next day, sometimes even the following day. We have specialised facilities and equipment that ensures that we have the best diagnostic yield from each of those tests and procedures.

The majority of cases that we see for chronic gut problems have a chronic inflammatory condition of the gut called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (if you would like to read more about this condition in dogs and cats, please click for an information leaflet here), but other conditions have to be excluded in all cases, especially infectious, hormonal and cancerous problems. If your dog or cat gets diagnosed with IBD, usually a stepwise approach to treatment is necessary, as it can take weeks to find the right treatment for each individual patient. This is a very frustrating condition to treat for both owners and veterinarians across the world, and still not a lot is known about potential causes. If you would like to know what the DIGEST clinic does to improve our knowledge about this condition and what novel treatment strategies we offer, please go to the Research link here or on the menu.

In addition to medical referral appointments, the DIGEST clinic runs 2 specialised nurse led consultations:

• In the Fit for Life – IBD care clinic detailed nutritional support is provided for our patients diagnosed with IBD (see above) to make sure they get all the help and support they need as well as the right type and amount of food. In particular, Susan can give advice on feeding plans for pets that need an anti-/hypoallergenic diet (so called exclusion or hydrolysed diets) as whole or part of a treatment program prescribed by the DIGEST vet team. Taking clients’ lifestyle and home-life with their pet into consideration a feeding plan is formed taking into account food types, frequency, treats and provision using raised bowls, slow feeders and puzzle toys where appropriate.

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• In the Fit for Life - weight care clinic, we give advice to owners of pets seen at our Dick Vet General Practice (DVGP) that need to lose weight and also to any client who’s pet has been referred for a condition where weight loss would significantly improve recovery. A feeding and exercise program, often in combination with REPAIR (Royal Dick Edinburgh Physiotherapy, Assessment and Intensive Rehabilitation), is made alongside clients to ensure compatibility with their busy lifestyle.  A feeding plan which allows for treats/training rewards and an expected weight loss schedule is calculated. For DVGP patients Susan arranges for regular progress appointments to ensure each pet is losing weight and remains healthy. For referred patients Susan then communicates with the referring practice team and together, make a plan for progress revisit appointments for each client. This is a very successful programme, and we are currently looking after 40 patients provided with a weight loss feeding program during the past 6 months.

If you would like to know more about our nutrition consults, please contact us!