Our frontline team needs your help as we work hard to make sure you and your pet receive the best care!

We’re working hard to make sure you and your pet receive the best care. Over the last 18 months, we’ve stretched and adapted, and never closed our doors. But historic pressures facing the veterinary field caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are taking their toll—and we need your help.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives and we are grateful for your patience and understanding as we continue to adapt to new ways of caring for pets. At VCA Hollywood, the health and well-being of your pets is our top priority. The pandemic has placed significant pressures on the veterinary field across the country and we wanted to share more information on these forces impacting our hospital, how we’re continuing to adapt to ensure your pet receives the best care, and what strategies we are employing to navigate this new reality.

What is happening? As you may know, millions of animals have found their forever homes since the start of the pandemic. As more people worked from home, they noticed changes in their pet’s condition sooner. This has led to historic demand for veterinary care.

Unfortunately, the field of veterinary medicine is struggling to keep up. There is a significant shortage of qualified professionals—from veterinarians to technicians to support roles. This shortage has created a challenging landscape for thousands of veterinarians across the country, including our own. Thus resulting in longer wait times and fewer available appointments.

What are we doing about it? In addition to shifting our care services to continue to keep pets and people safe, we are hiring. VCA swiftly evolved their recruiting program to find more care professionals who can join our hospitals. Yet, after successfully hiring hundreds of veterinarians and technicians just this year, more are still needed and there aren’t enough people in the field.

How does this impact your pet’s care today? While we are making progress to address these challenges brought on by the pandemic, we acknowledge that your experience has been impacted. Due to increased demand for care, longer operational protocols and reduced staff, we are seeing longer wait times and appointments booking weeks in advance. 

We recognize that this can be frustrating, and the entire team appreciates your patience and understanding as we navigate this once-in-a-lifetime landscape facing the whole field of veterinary medicine.

As we continue to work through these challenges, we’d encourage you to book appointments as early as possible. 

Not every appointment can be anticipated, and we always try to reserve time each day for same-day and emergency care, but these appointments fill quickly given how many new pets there are to serve.

We currently offer in-person appointments. Appointment must be scheduled in advance to allow our team to continue to provide the excellent medical care you have come to know and love, with extra one-on-one time for your pet.

Above all, we are committed to the care of your pet. Please know that everyone on our team is working harder than ever to care for as many clients and patients as possible. We ask for your understanding and we very much appreciate your patience and kindness.

For our team, caring for pets is not only a career but also our passion. We’re all doing our best to find new and innovative ways to care for as many pets as possible while still providing world-class care and the client experience you deserve and expect from us.

Thank you for remaining a loyal part of our hospital community and for your continued trust.

Tips & Tricks

The best appointments to book early include annual and semi-annual wellness check-ups, vaccinations, dental cleanings, and elective surgeries. You can book through our website, on the myVCA app or by calling us directly.

During your next visit, it’s also a good idea to book your pet’s next appointment right at check-out. If you aren’t sure when or what your pet’s next appointment should be, our hospital team can help or you can check myVCA app.

Minimally Invasive Surgery options for your pets.

Recent innovations in veterinary medicine and minimally invasive surgical (MIS) technology are changing the face of veterinary medicine. These new minimally invasive surgical approaches complement or replace traditional soft tissue and orthopedic surgery techniques with all the same benefits of traditional surgery.

What exactly is a Minimally Invasive Surgery? 

MIS is any surgical procedure that is performed with the aid of small instruments and cameras with high-definition real-time imaging systems through tiny incisions instead of a large opening.

Why should I choose Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) for my pet?

Your MIS surgeon makes smaller incisions, therefore your pet’s discomfort is minimized and recovery time is quicker.

"Hialeah Police Department Canine Unit has recently chosen minimally invasive surgery for all of their working canines to ensure they have the least amount of post-surgical downtime possible. Minimally Invasive Surgery allows for smaller incisions, as well as less swelling and pain which allows these canines to promptly return to duty."     - Dr. Jim Herrington, Medical Director, VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital

What procedures can be done with MIS?

VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital offers minimally invasive techniques for orthopedic, thoracic, and abdominal surgical cases.

Some of the minimally invasive procedures we offer are:

SOFT TISSUE PROCEDURES:

• Ovariohysterectomy/Ovariectomy (Spay)

• Cryptorchidectomy (Cryptorchid Neuter)

• Abdominal Exploratory

• Lung Lobectomy

• Cystopexy

• Biopsies (ie, Liver, Pancreas, Kidney, Lung)

ORTHOPEDIC PROCEDURES:

In addition to exploratory arthroscopy of joints, some procedures include:

• Arthroscopic debridement

• OCD lesion removal & debridement

• Meniscectomy

• Cruciate ligament debridement

• Biceps tenectomy

• OCD lesion removal and debridement

Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgical Techniques

√ Less postoperative pain

√ Quicker recovery time

√ Superior visualization

Meet our Minimally Invasive Surgery Specialist

Andrea Clark, DVM, DACVS-SA

More about Dr. Clark...

Dr. Clark joined our team in 2018 and has firmly established herself as an asset to our specialty surgical team. Fully versed in both soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, Dr. Clark's experience and commitment to excellence is a trademark in all of her patient care.

Appointments
Wednesday-Saturday
Surgeries performed daily.
Dr. Clark is available by email at
au1000@vca.com

Our Specialty Services apply a team approach to patient care using the strength and expertise of all of our on-site specialists in Cardiology, Dermatology, Emergency & Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Oncology & Surgery to care for your pet.

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Human Quality Diagnostic Imaging for Pets

As a leader in specialized veterinary medicine, VCA Hollywood has always offered the best care for our pet community.                                                                      3D Video of Canine Scan

Now offering the only 64 Slice CT (computed tomography) Scanner in So.Florida Veterinary medicine, we provide human-quality advanced diagnostic imaging for your pet. This means we deliver the highest resolution images available with significantly less anesthetic time, quicker return of interpretations and ultimately more timely diagnoses and treatment for your precious pet.

Your veterinarian may recommend a CT scan for conditions including pre-operation evaluations, neurological disorders (disk disease, seizures, etc), orthopedic disorders, nasal disease as well as many other conditions which may benefit from CT imaging. 

 Your primary care veterinarian will tell you if a CT scan is right for your pet.

 

Quick-Facts about CT Imaging

Our human-hospital grade technology is now available for your patients too.  

Read more to learn about our Haemonetics Cell Saver 5+ and Toshiba 16 slice CT

What is new at VCA Hollywood?

VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital strives to provide the latest technology in veterinary care with our new 64 Slice CT machine.

What is a CT Scan?

CT stands for Computed Tomography. It is basically a series of very fine X‑rays that the computer then assembles into a 3D image. CT scans are especially helpful in evaluating the skull, brain, sinuses, inner ear, eye sockets, spine and discs, bones, joints, and soft tissues.

How does this make us different?

●       Quality-VCA Hollywood HD CT Scans offer greater resolution than traditional diagnostic imaging tools because of our 64 slice scanner.

●       Value-VCA Hollywood’s CT scans an affordable diagnostic- gets more comprehensive answers more quickly then other diagnostics

●       Availability-CT Reports are read by a board-certified radiologist and standardly provided within 24 hours of scan. “Stat” reads are also available.

Toshiba 16 Slice CT

Our 64 slice CT machine produces high resolution images, requires less anesthesia time and generates quicker reports and results, allowing for more timely diagnoses and treatment plans.

CT include:

* Pre-Surgery Examination-Each pet is given a thorough examination before surgery allowing us to determine anesthesia risk before surgery.
* Intravenous Catheter-The catheter gives access to a vein so that the doctor is able to administer drugs and fluids.
* Intravenous Fluids (During Procedure)- The fluid is a balanced electrolyte solution helps to combat anesthesia-induced drop in blood pressure. The exact rate of fluid administration is determined based on the pet’s body weight, hydration status, etc.
* Anti-nausea Medication (Cerenia)-Dogs and cats may have a propensity to vomit due to some of the pain prevention medications and anesthesia they receive. Cerenia is highly effective in controlling nausea allowing your pet to feel more comfortable. Pets treated with Cernia before surgery are shown to have a better appetite during the recovery process.
* A pre-anesthetic tranquilizer/analgesic (pain medication)-Administered to decrease stress, anxiety and preemptively address discomfort Scans are reviewed by our Board Certified Radiologist with standard results returned within 24 hours. Stat reads available at additional fee.  

Computed Tomography (CT scanning)

VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital utilizes an advanced computed tomography (CT) scanner system with enhanced features for greater patient comfort and safety, quicker exam times, and improved image quality for faster, more effective diagnosis and treatment. This is particularly important when determining the extent of injuries in trauma cases, where every second counts.

While CT uses X-ray technology, it is distinguished from other imaging tools like traditional X-ray and MRI by its ability to display a combination of soft tissue (like muscles, tissue, organs and fat), bones and blood vessels all in a single image. Clinicians perform CT scans to diagnose kidney, lung, liver, spine, blood diseases, cancer, tumors and cysts, as well as blood clots, hemorrhages and infections.

During a CT exam, a patient lies on a table and is slowly moved into the large donut-shaped opening of the scanner. Once inside, a series of X-ray beams create hundreds of cross-sectional pictures that represent slices of the patient's body. Seconds later, the system's computer assembles the slices into three-dimensional images that are interpreted by a clinician.

Multi-detector CT has dramatically improved clinicians' ability to accurately diagnose disease at an early stage. Offering superior imaging capabilities, it is a powerful diagnostic tool that uses rotating X-rays to penetrate body tissues, generating multiple slice images, which can detect more than traditional radiography.
CT can also be used to guide a biopsy of an abnormality within the body less invasively than with surgery. Veterinary patients need to be anesthetized for CT scans, so that they will hold still long enough for the examination. Every patient that presents for a CT scan will receive a thorough physical exam, and will have a review of recent bloodwork and other testing done prior to anesthesia to ensure they are good candidates for anesthesia. Also, every patient anesthetized at VCA HAH is closely monitored while under anesthesia by a veterinarian and a certified veterinary technician. VCA HAH has a dual slice CT scanner, capable of helical scanning, a technology which allows more rapid scanning of the patient than non-helical CT machines. Surgical suites and the ICU (with board certified surgeons, internal medicine specialists, neurologists, emergency and critical care, and other specialists) are close by.
 
Computed tomography (CT) is a diagnostic tool that uses x-rays to obtain cross-sectional images of the body. CT is commonly used to image:
• Lungs and other thoracic (chest) structures
• Orthopedic conditions such as elbow dysplasia, complex fractures, tumors or infections, etc.
• Skull, nasal cavity and sinuses, middle or inner ear disease.
• Can be used to diagnose vascular liver shunts and other abdominal diseases such as adrenal tumors or liver tumors, assisting a surgeon to plan a difficult surgery to remove or treat these abnormalities.