Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Our team has extensive experience in treating internal medicine conditions. Non-surgical intestinal disorders? Pneumonia? A “dust cough”? Heart murmur? Sick foal? Dr. Alward and her team have your horse covered!
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Internal Medicine
- Neonatology
- Neuromuscular Evaluation
- Infectious Diseases
- Echocardiography / Cardiac Disorders
- Intestinal Disorders
- Kidney and Liver Disease
A new birth is an exciting time; however, foals are very fragile and prone to developing problems before, during, and after birth. A sick foal always needs to be attended immediately. Southwest Equine Veterinarians are specifically trained to evaluate newborns and ill, septic, and mal-nourished foals. Early and aggressive therapy is critical to maximizing the chances of a successful outcome for our youngest patients. Common neonatal problems treated by our team include systemic and umbilical infections, peri-natal oxygen deprivation (“Dummy Foals”), colic, joint infections, and pneumonia. Dr. Alward and Dr. Ferrante are passionate about foals!
Internal medicine specialists are specially trained to identify subtle neurologic and muscular disorders. We offer state-of-the-art spinal radiographs, contrast myelography, spinal fluid collection, minimally-invasive muscle biopsies, and incisional muscle biopsies for evaluating a variety of neuromuscular disorders. Dr. Alward in particular loves all things relating to the spine and neuromuscular system!
Southwest Equine Veterinarians specialize in treating infectious diseases such as Salmonella, Coronavirus, pneumonia/pleuropneumonia (“Shipping Fever”), Valley Fever, Pigeon Fever, Strangles, Herpes / Influenza / Rhinovirus infections as well as other conditions less commonly seen in Arizona
Our in-house PCR laboratory allows for very rapid (<1hr) diagnosis of Strangles and Equine Herpes Virus. PCR for Salmonella results are available within 18-24 hours (Salmonella requires special broth enrichment and incubation for testing).
Dr. Alward is highly trained and skilled at the evaluation and ultrasound of the equine heart. We utilize a Vivid-i ultrasound for our echocardiograms, which is considered one of the state-of-the-art ultrasounds for human echocardiography.
Our team routinely evaluates horses with intestinal disorders. From gas to sand, suspect ulcers, chronic weight loss, and explosive diarrhea, Southwest Equine has the tools and expertise to diagnose and manage your horse’s intestinal problem. We utilize the highest quality imaging equipment (ultrasound, digital radiography, video endoscopy), on-site laboratory, and our puzzle-solving skills to try to get the answers needed to help your horse!
Dr. Alward has extensive experience treating both liver and kidney disease. She will guide you through diagnostic options (to biopsy or not to biopsy?) and treatment options based upon your horse’s history, labwork and symptoms as well as your budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Internal Medicine Services at Southwest Equine:
What is Internal Medicine at Southwest Equine?
Just like in human medicine, veterinarians can obtain advanced training in certain disciplines (Internal Medicine, Surgery, Ophthalmology, Dentistry, etc). Internal Medicine encompasses disorders of the internal organs. While all veterinarians learn the basics of internal medicine in veterinary school, Internal Medicine Specialists spend an additional 3+ years in a specialized training program with internal medicine as their ONLY focus. They are extensively trained in pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease. Internists spend their entire careers focusing on the sickest-of-the-sick horses and have extensive experience diagnosing and treating the “weird” stuff.
Do you accept patients on an emergency basis?
Yes, but please call ahead! A referral is not required, but providing copies of previous examinations, lab work, and diagnostic results is appreciated.
How does Southwest Equine handle Neonatology?
Healthy foals should stay at home and receive a wellness exam within 24 hours of birth. Any foal that is not nursing, colicky, lame, diarrhea or any other problem should be attended to immediately. Foals are very fragile and early, aggressive intervention is critical to achieving a successful outcome.
What is the focus of Neuromuscular Evaluation?
During a neuromuscular evaluation, we assess muscle symmetry and strength as well as balance and co-ordination. Based upon the results of our examination we may recommend additional diagnostic testing (laboratory or imaging), but our recommendations will always be tailored to the specific history and findings of each individual horse.
What infectious diseases does Southwest Equine specialize in treating?
While we see many different disease conditions, we most commonly treat respiratory problems (Strangles, S. zooepidemicus, Guttural Pouch Empyema, Pneumonia, Rhodococcus) and Enterocolitis (Salmonella, Clostridium, Coronavirus, etc). Our expertise extends to much less commonly seen infections in Arizona and all of our veterinarians are accredited by the USDA to provide foreign animal disease surveillance services.
Tell us about Echocardiography and Cardiac Disorders.
While many horses have heart murmurs, the art is determining which murmurs are benign and which are pathologic. Our team can guide you through recommendations regarding “continue to monitor” or performing electrocardiography (EKG) or echocardiography. Serial ultrasound examinations may be recommended for prognosis in horses with evidence of cardiac chamber enlargement or contractility disorders.
How are Acute and Chronic Colic Evaluations handled?
Acute and Chronic Colic evaluations are often handled very differently. Acute colic evaluations usually focus more on pain relief, symptomatic treatment and maintaining hydration. While we ultrasound nearly every colic, our ultrasound is a “FLASH (Fast Localized Abdominal Sonography of Horses” exam, looking only at certain windows into the abdomen for potential problems. During a chronic colic examination, we are focused on finding a cause or source- the examinations take much longer and usually involve extensive history taking and diagnostic imaging (full abdominal ultrasound, gastric endoscopy, abdominal radiographs, bloodwork).