The UGA Veterinary Dermatology Service trains veterinary students to become familiar with skin diseases and to manage them properly, and trains dermatology residents to become board-certified dermatologists. We also conduct clinical studies for the enhancement of the diagnosis and treatment of dermatological diseases affecting pets.
We treat the following:
- Allergies: Up to 30 percent of the pet population is affected by allergic conditions such as flea bite hypersensitivity, food adverse reaction and atopic dermatitis. The disease is characterized by variable degrees of itching, often combined with secondary infections. The allergies and infections can be severe at times and dramatically reduce your pet’s quality of life if the disease is not properly diagnosed and managed.
- Auto-Immune Diseases: Many pets diagnosed with these conditions are euthanized due to poor response to treatment or severe side-effects to the medication. We want to find more ways to manage these devastating diseases and improve quality of life for pets suffering from these conditions.
- Ear Diseases: Chronic ear infections are commonly caused by underlying conditions such as allergies and other systemic diseases. If not properly diagnosed and treated, they can result in chronic irreversible damage to the ear canal and associated tissue, as well as frustration. Up to 25 percent of pets examined each year by veterinarians are found to be suffering from ear diseases. A topical compound, developed and tested at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, has proven to be very effective in controlling severe chronic and resistant ear infections.
- Skin Infections: Due to the development of multi-resistant microorganisms, antibiotics are not as effective as they once were in treating infectious diseases.
- Allergy Skin Testing and Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy: By injecting into your pet small amounts of many different allergens, we can identify the substances to which your pet is potentially allergic. This diagnosis is important for the successful management of your pet’s allergies. Based on your pet’s test results, we can formulate an individualized vaccine to help your pet develop an immunity to the allergen.
- Skin Biopsy:A small skin sample from your pet will enable us to diagnose a large variety of skin diseases.
- Video-Otoscopy: By inserting a camera into your pet’s ear, we can assess the entire ear canal, obtain adequate samples and assure a thorough ear cleaning.
