Specialty Services at the Medical District Veterinary Clinic

Medical District Veterinary Clinic makes it easy for patients to be seen by boarded specialists in cardiology and dermatology who practice at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital. You can bring your pet to our clinic in Chicago, and the specialists will come to you!

Because we are part of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, these specialists travel to Chicago on selected days to see patients at our clinic to manage conditions that require specialty knowledge and skills.

Cardiology

A veterinary cardiologist is a veterinarian with advanced specialty training focused entirely on heart disease. Several boarded specialists from the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital cardiology service take turns seeing patients at our Chicago clinic.

They partner closely with our primary care veterinarians to diagnose, monitor, and manage heart conditions at every stage of your pet’s life.

These experts can perform an echocardiogram (ECG), a noninvasive ultrasound that reveals how the heart chambers fill, how the valves open and close, and how effectively the heart pumps blood. This procedure is painless, typically does not require sedation, and provides diagnostic information that cannot be obtained from x-rays or physical exams alone.

Echocardiograms can help diagnose and monitor cardiac conditions, including:

• Heart murmurs—An echocardiogram can sort out innocent murmurs (a harmless sound) from true heart disease
• Degenerative (valvular) heart disease—Common in older, small- and medium-breed dogs
• Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)—Often seen in large-breed dogs
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)—The most common heart disease in cats
• Congenital heart defects—Such as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) or valve abnormalities
• Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)—When evaluated alongside ECG findings
• Pericardial disease—Fluid around the heart
• Pulmonary hypertension—Increased pressure in the lungs affecting heart function

Additionally, these cardiologists provide services such as:

• Monitoring stable cardiac disease, such as early heart murmurs
• Evaluating pets’ cardiac fitness for undergoing procedures requiring anesthesia
• Holter monitoring, a wearable devise used to diagnose intermittent heart rhythm abnormalities or evaluate suspected heart disease

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Dermatology

Does your pet shake his or her head? Have a head tilt? Or have stinky ears?

These signs often arise because your animal’s body is reacting to environmental and internal stimuli. It’s important to identify and treat the root cause of dermatological problems early so they do not develop into more serious conditions.

Dr. Clarissa Souza heads the dermatology and otology service at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, Illinois. A boarded specialist with more than 20 years of experience in veterinary dermatology, she sees patients at the Medical District Veterinary Clinic on a part-time basis.

Dermatological conditions she diagnoses and treats include:

• Allergic skin diseases
• Bacterial skin infections
• Ear diseases
• Excessive skin scaling/crusting
• Fungal and yeast skin infections
• Hair loss, alopecia, seborrhea
• Nail and nail bed diseases
• Pruritus, itching/scratching/biting
• Skin cancers
• Thyroid disease

Dr. Souza knows that skin diseases can be frustrating because the conditions are often chronic, with recurrences, and because diagnostic work ups can be time-consuming. However, she is committed to helping find ways to manage your pet’s condition and provide the best care possible.