Medical Services - Small Animal - Dermatology
| Appointment Information - Allergen Orders |  |
Skin irritations and diseases, serious conditions in their own right, may also be important indicators of underlying medical conditions. The dermatology service at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital is staffed and equipped to diagnose and treat a wide variety of skin conditions in small, large, and exotic animals. With easy access to other veterinary specialties and the College’s diagnostic laboratories, dermatology service consults with other experts to ensure a complete and accurate diagnosis of your animal’s skin disorder.
Skin conditions are often the product of complex reactions to environmental and internal stimuli. Because dermatological problems can arise from a multitude of causes, the dermatology service completes a thorough, individualized work up of your animal’s condition and formulates an effective treatment plan. Input from you and your local veterinarian is often essential to help form an appropriate treatment plan for your animal.
The dermatology service works closely with the College’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, where samples such as blood and skin biopsies are analyzed. Diagnostic pathologists are trained to evaluate clinical data and/or histopathology of dermatology cases. Pathologists with special interest in dermatology cases routinely meet with the clinical dermatologists to discuss specific cases, especially those with challenging diagnoses.
The dermatology service uses laser surgery to treat skin cancer and chronic ear infections; performs intra-dermal testing to diagnose environmental allergies; has specialized equipment that evaluates the pH and hydration level of a pet’s skin; and uses video-otoscopy to evaluate and treat ear diseases.
Conditions Typically Treated by Dermatology Services include:
- pruritus (itching, chewing)
- allergic skin diseases (atopy, environmental allergies, food allergies)
- parasitic skin diseases (fleas, mites, lice, ticks)
- blistering skin diseases
- excessive skin scaling or crusting
- ear diseases
- skin cancers
- nail and nail bed diseases
- hormonal diseases
- hair loss
- immune-mediated skin diseases
- greasy skin (seborrhea)
- bacterial skin infections
- fungal skin infections (ringworm and yeast)
- Cushings disease
- thyroid disease
Clinical Investigations
On occasion clients are asked whether their pet can be included in a clinical investigation program. Enrollment in these programs, which are designed to determine the best treatments for dermatology patients, usually means some of the cost of the pet’s treatment will be paid for by the study.