The Critical Care Department at MVRC provides the most up to date care for your pet in its greatest time of need. Although having your pet experience an emergency or critical illness can be very difficult, the doctors and staff of the MVRC Critical Care Department are dedicated to helping you through that challenging time. We are committed to providing your pet with the compassionate care they deserve, while giving you the information you need to make educated decisions regarding your pet’s care.

If your pet should become injured or suddenly develop an acute, life threatening disease, he or she will need prompt emergency care. In addition to requiring initial emergency treatment, many days may be needed for the disease process to run its course before recovery occurs. During this time, close monitoring and life support measures in the intensive care unit (ICU) may be needed. A vigilant team lead by a veterinarian who is specialty trained in emergency and critical care will improve the quality of care your pet receives during this crucial time, improving his or her chance for a good outcome (ACVECC website, 2011).

The following are examples of the type of patients that routinely benefit from care by a critical care specialist:            (some list content courtesy of ACVECC)

• Trauma patients, including those hit by cars, bite, bullet, knife or burn injuries
• Any animal that is having trouble breathing
• Animals that need a blood transfusion
• Any patient that is in shock (signs of shock can include weakness, pale mucous membranes in their mouth, cold extremities, and an abnormal heart rate)
• Animals that are having trouble urinating, or are not producing urine
• Dogs and cats that need specialized nutritional support because they are unwilling or unable to eat on their own
• Animals in which an abnormal heart rhythm is causing problems
• Animals with life-threatening neurologic disease such as coma or severe seizures that are not responding to medications
• Patients that have had surgery and are not recovering well from anesthesia or are having trouble in the first few post-operative days
• Patients with complications from metabolic diseases such as kidney failure or diabetes mellitus
• Animals with pancreatitis, or other conditions causing systemic inflammation (SIRS)
• Animals with severe electrolyte abnormalities

At MVRC our ICU is staffed by dedicated veterinarians and technicians 24 hours a day. Your pet will benefit from our well-equipped ICU which includes:

• Supplemental oxygen
• Continuous EKG monitoring
• Capnography
• Direct and indirect blood pressure monitoring
• Pulse-oximetry (oxygenation monitoring)
• In house CBC and chemistry analyzer
• In house coagulation testing
• In house blood gas analysis
• Blood products for transfusion
• Enteral and parenteral nutrition
• Ultrasound
• And much more