Internal medicine and surgery

For exotic patients I offer conventional veterinary services at home, at the practice ANIMED in Lausanne or at the practice "am Blumenrain" in Biel/ Bienne. Based on anamnesis and clinical examination I establish a diagnostic plan and the further course of action. As the clinical examination may not suffice to establish a clear diagnosis I recommend bringing a faecal and a urine sample of the same day in order to initiate further laboratory investigations as quickly as possible. For aquatic patients, a water sample from the aquarium and a faecal sample are desirable for the same reason.

Certain patients may not readily be transported and cannot be approached for a thorough clinical examination. In these cases (mechanical or chemical) immobilisation is necessary on site. When indicated, these animals are further medically assessed under anaesthesia.

Diagnostic methods available

During home visits the diagnostic possibilities are restricted to a thorough physical examination and if necessary samples are taken for later analysis.

The diagnostic methods available in the practices in Lausanne and Biel/ Bienne are faecal examination (parasitology), blood examination (differential, chemistry), urinalysis (density, chemistry, cytology), radiography and ultrasound. Those methods are generally sufficient to identify the problem and treat it specifically.

Medication of exotic pets

Drugs are usually registered at swissmedic for the common pets and farm animals. This implies that a drug treatment of an exotic animal is always off-label and requires a rededication by the veterinarian. Thus the veterinarian has the full responsibility for the therapy and cannot rely on the liability of the pharmaceutical companies producing the drug. In addition, few pharmacological studies exist to develop a therapeutic plan for exotic patients. Generally, I rely on the few books on the subject, published case studies and a network of colleagues with similar patients.

Surgery

Surgery on exotic animals is possible. Depending on the size of the patient it requires a magnifying glass and especially small surgical equipment or significantly larger infrastructure. Depending on the patient and the available infrastructure, I plan surgical interventions in collaboration with specialized colleagues in a clinic or on site.