Consultations
The first time we meet most of our new patients is in a consultation at their first vaccination visit. We provide consultations for a huge range of problems including injuries & illnesses, routine health checks, vaccinations, seniors care, behaviour problems and much more. Anything that bothers you or your pet & affects their quality of life – then we will find a solution for it. There is no problem too big or too small for us to handle. We will go that extra mile for you and your best friend!
Regular Health Checks
Many of the consultations we do are for unexpected problems (accidents & illnesses) that our pets present with. Regular health checks & preventative health care is a vital way of maintaining good health in our pets throughout their lives, especially as they age.
From the first time we meet your pet, we will carefully tailor a health care program to suit your pet’s age, breed & particular individual needs. Most importantly this is done in consultation with you, taking into consideration your needs & wants as well. Pets, like us, have a higher incidence of certain illnesses at certain ages. As your pet becomes older we will concentrate on different health issues with a strong emphasis on preventative health care.
When your pet is due for a health check, we will send you a reminder letter in the mail. As your pet gets older we may suggest 6 monthly health checks to keep a closer watch on them as they age. For pets with cardiac or kidney disease we may suggest 3 monthly or more regular checks.
Early disease detection is the best way of managing your pet’s health as he/she ages & early intervention can enable your ageing pet to live a long & healthy life – most importantly with the quality of life that we desire for them. As part of this early disease detection philosophy we may suggest performing screening blood & urine tests to look for problems before they become serious & impact your pet’s health. Again this is tailored to your pets needs and is discussed carefully with you.
We do ask you to watch out for subtle changes in your pet’s behaviour as they age. These changes can provide valuable clues. For example an older cat drinking more may have early kidney disease or a hyperactive thyroid problem. Difficulty rising or a reluctance to jump may be signs of arthritis in your older dog! Watch out for these changes & let us know sooner rather than later!
Dentistry
Most pets will develop some form of dental disease in their life time. Statistically 75% of all dogs and cats at the age of 4 have some form of periodontal disease. Regular preventative care and careful oral examination during the Annual Health check will help to reduce the incidence of this periodontal disease. Careful attention to diet including the inclusion of raw meaty bones where appropriate and other home care measures can be implemented to help maintain your pet’s oral health.
In some situations regular dental cleaning under anaesthesia may be necessary to keep your pets mouth healthy. In cases where more advanced dental disease is present we may need to perform more advanced oral surgery, sometimes including extraction of severely diseased teeth. We routinely use advanced dental radiography as an important tool when assessing dental health. Dental radiography provides an enormous mount of information to help determine how best to manage periodontal disease, most importantly, whether a diseased tooth should be extracted or can be salvaged.
Acupuncture
As of January 2024, we are pleased to offer Acupuncture at Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital.
Dr Juliana Ong is certified in Veterinary Acupuncture and works full time at the hospital.
Acupuncture is a form of alternative veterinary therapy.
Acupuncture stimulates the nervous system and provides pain relief by reducing cortisol in the body. It activates immune and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, accelerates tissue healing and helps to reduce physical and emotional stress.
Fine acupuncture needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points and left in for 20-30 minutes. It is a painless procedure. Conditions that can be treated with acupuncture include:
- Musculoskeletal diseases like osteoarthritis, acute joint or muscle sprains or tears
- Pallative care
- Allergies
- Behavioural problems
- Gastrointestinal, urogenital and respiratory diseases
If you have any queries or want to know more about Acupuncture & it’s suitability for your pet please feel fee to give us a call on 9873 1544 or make an appointment with Dr Juliana.
Microchipping
Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital is an Accredited Microchip Centre. We are required to follow strict protocols when implanting animals with microchips. You can then be assured that your pet is microchipped correctly and is registered with the appropriate microchip registry. We use Central Animal Records for registering microchip details. All council registered pets are required to be microchipped as part of the registration process.
Vaccinations
Regular Vaccinations are an extremely important part of your pet’s preventative health care program. All puppies & kittens need a course of 3 temporary vaccinations between 6 & 16 weeks of age. Young healthy cats & dogs should have an annual health check at which time appropriate annual vaccinations are usually given to prevent serious disease. A vaccination protocol will be designed to suit your pet’s needs depending on breed, lifestyle & whether or not they will be visiting a kennel or cattery through their lives.
We recommend all outdoor cats are vaccinated against FIV.
Routine Surgery
We perform routine elective surgery from Monday to Friday. This includes neutering of dogs, cats, rabbits and other small pets. We also perform a lot of soft tissue & orthopaedic surgery.
Advanced Surgery
Advanced soft tissue surgery, surgical oncology and many different types of orthopaedic procedures including cruciate & patella surgeries are regularly carried out at Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital.
Dr. David Margary & Dr. Leslie Rasmussen are very experienced surgeons who regularly perform complex procedures that many vets would refer to specialist surgeons. This has the advantage of your pet being cared for by a familiar team & also of reducing the cost of surgery.
These surgical procedures are carried out in our modern fully equipped theatre.
Surgeries routinely performed include
- Anterior Cruciate repair – Isotoggle & TPLO
- Medial Luxating Patella
- BOAS (Brachcephalic Obstructive Airway Disease) surgery. Forest Hill Vets are the preferred surgeons for French Bull Dog Rescue.
- Gastropexy
- Cholecystectomy
- Thyroidectomy
- Perineal Urethrostomy
- Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies
- Intestinal resection & anastomosis
- Subtotal Colectomy
- Many other forms of Eye, Soft tissue & orthopaedic surgery.
- Anterior Cruciate repair – Isotoggle & TPLO
- Medial Luxating Patella
- BOAS (Brachcephalic Obstructive Airway Disease) surgery. Forest Hill Vets are the preferred surgeons for French Bull Dog Rescue.
- Gastropexy
- Cholecystectomy
- Thyroidectomy
- Perineal Urethrostomy
- Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies
- Intestinal resection & anastomosis
- Subtotal Colectomy
- Many other forms of Eye, Soft tissue & orthopaedic surgery.
Stem Cells
Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital has been using Stem Cells for the treatment of severe arthritis with Canine & Feline patients.We have seen very beneficial results in all of our Canine & Feline patients to date.
Stem cell treatments involve either the direct injection of cells into affected joints or intravenous injection of Stem Cells in patients with multiple affected joints. Intra-articular injections require the dog to be anaesthetised whereas the intravenous injections do not. Either way administration is actually quite straight forward. It is the Stem Cells themselves which are the clever bit!
If your dog has significant arthritis, has poor control of arthritic pain & dysfunction with traditional treatments then Stem Cells may be the answer. If you have any questions or would like to discuss treatment suitability for your dog you can call & speak to Dr David Margary at any time.
In House Pathology
We have a fully equipped laboratory which allows us to perform routine blood tests in house when appropriate. We also examine smears, swabs & skin scrapings using our microscope. Urine analysis including sediment examination is regularly performed at Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital.
We commonly encounter lumps & bumps in our canine & feline patients. An excellent way of determining just what they are is by performing a fine needle aspirate. A small sample of cells is collected & with appropriate stains it is examined under our microscope. This can give us a diagnosis & most importantly determine if the lump is benign or potentially harmful, needing surgical removal.
Grooming
Please note: As of November 2024, we are not accepting new patients for grooming services. We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to check back in the future for availability.
We are very fortunate to have Sally as our resident groomer. Sally is very experienced and has been grooming both pets & show dogs for 16 years. Sally has been working with dogs for most of her life. She ran a highly successful doggy day care centre & grooming service for many years.
Most importantly Sally does an awesome clip!
Sally grooms on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays, and she takes bookings on the hour which means that your dog only needs to stay with us for an hour (or 2 for larger breeds) before going home looking absolutely fabulous!
Radiology
We are very proud of our state of the art Agfa digital radiology equipment. Our X-ray equipment is very capable of taking excellent quality radiographs of any area of your pet including the chest, the abdomen, the musculoskeletal system. We are also equipped with a dedicated state of the art dental X-ray machine that enables us to perform high definition dental X-rays of your dog, cat or rabbit.
Ultrasonography
We have a modern ultrasound machine that enables detailed examination of abdominal structures, echocardiography (heart examination) and pregnancy diagnosis/foetal viability. Ultrasound is a highly valuable tool when investigating various abdominal & thoracic diseases. The use of ultrasound will often enable us to gather valuable information & perform minimally invasive biopsy of internal organs & tissues without the need for more invasive surgery.
Endoscopy
We have 3 fibre optic endoscopes that allow the visualization of the upper & lower gastrointestinal tract in some animals. We can also take biopsies with this endoscope. In some cases this allows us to gain a lot of information without the need for major surgery. It is also an excellent tool for removing some gastrointestinal and upper respiratory foreign bodies.
Pain Management
Our staff are very mindful of the careful management of any painful procedures for your pet.
All cats & dogs having surgical procedures at the Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital are given narcotic drugs to control pain. We often combine these narcotics with anti-inflammatory drugs & sometimes we use pain patches for bigger procedures. Local anaesthesia & nerve blocks are also commonly used.
Pain management is not an optional extra at Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital. It is a standard of care we insist on!
Hydrobath
We have a warm water hydrobath available for DIY use or if you would prefer one of our nurses can do it for you! We can perform some simple grooming; knots, nails, anal glands, eyes & ears as well! Just ask!
Reproduction
This is a facet of our practice that we all love! There is nothing more special than bringing a litter of puppies or kittens into the world. We can help you with a variety of reproduction issues including; fertility, difficult mating, artificial inseminations, predicting ovulation, whelping assistance, pregnancy diagnosis, foetal viability, even caesarean delivery of your litter if necessary!
Speak to Dr David Margary if you need any advice on breeding your pet!
Laboratory Testing
We use an accredited Veterinary Laboratory for some tests we cannot perform in hospital or when we would like a pathologist’s opinion. Most routine blood results are available the same day, if not within 24 hrs, even on weekends. We will generally contact you as soon as the results are available. Analysis of tissue samples, bacterial cultures & some specialised tests may take several days to come back.