Before Your Appointment
At CVNI, our team of patient care coordinators, technicians, and doctors will work closely with you to diagnose and manage your pet’s neurological disease. Before your appointment, we will review your pet’s recent medical records. We can request these records directly from your referring veterinarian and/or emergency hospitals where your pet may have received care. If you have copies of recent blood work or diagnostic imaging (radiographs, MRI/CT), please forward these results to: info@compassvni.com. Having your pet’s complete medical record helps us avoid repeating tests and can expedite additional diagnostics that may be needed.
Fasting
Please fast your pet the night before your appointment. They can have dinner, but withhold food after 10PM unless you have been instructed otherwise by our team. Your pet can have free access to water overnight. If your pet is very young, diabetic, or has specific nutritional concerns, please contact our team for fasting recommendations.
On the morning of your appointment, you can administer medications in a small amount of food. Please do not skip anti-seizure medications before your appointment. If your pet takes medication for high blood pressure and/or cardiac disease (benazepril, enalapril, lisinopril, amlodipine, pimobendan, etc.), please contact our office for medication recommendations ahead of your appointment.
The Day of Your Appointment
Your appointment will begin with one of our technicians obtaining a thorough medical history for your pet about your specific areas of concern, as well as previous illnesses and/or surgeries. Please bring any current medications with you to the appointment so we can review medication doses, formulations, and dosing frequency. The technicians will also obtain basic vital signs (weight, heart rate, respiration, and temperature). They will then discuss your pet’s history with the neurologist.
Your neurologist will perform a complete physical and neurological examination of your pet. The goal of a neurological examination is to determine what specific portion of the nervous system is affected (i.e. “neurolocalization”). Your pet’s neurolocalization helps the neurologist develop a list of potential causes of your pet’s symptoms and formulate a targeted diagnostic and treatment plan.
Diagnostics We May Recommend
For diseases of the brain or spinal cord, we might recommend advanced imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) to evaluate your pet’s nervous system. In some cases, after the imaging is completed, a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample may be obtained and submitted for evaluation. For diseases impacting the nerves, muscles, or their connections (the neuromuscular junction) we may recommend electrodiagnostic testing, nerve and muscle biopsies, specialized blood tests, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. Electrodiagnostic testing, muscle and nerve biopsy, and certain specialized blood tests are often performed for disorders affecting the PNS.
Same-Day Imaging
At CVNI, we strive to provide same-day imaging for our new patient appointments. If our imaging schedule happens to be full, we can schedule a drop-off appointment for your pet, or if you prefer, your pet can stay overnight and have round-the-clock veterinary care and monitoring for imaging the following day.