The Maine Veterinary Medical Center provides emergency and critical care services along with various other specialties. We provide 24-hour emergency and critical care all of your pets. Our goal is to stabilize, diagnose and treat your pet’s emergency needs.
Our emergency and critical care veterinarians have extensive knowledge in treatment of a range of emergent conditions and are supported by a team of compassionate veterinary technicians.
A patient experiencing an emergency doesn’t need an appointment to be seen. Our team is always available, day or night. We also treat minor emergencies and are always prepared to serve any patient and client needs.
Triage
We treat the most critically ill or seriously injured patients first. This is called “triage.” Upon arrival at the MVMC all pets are triaged by our experienced medical staff.
Your pet may be referred to the emergency room for any of the following concerns, including, but not limited to:
- Trouble breathing
- Severe bleeding (or bleeding that doesn’t stop)
- Ingestion of a foreign object
- Eye trauma, vision problems
- Inability to move legs or weakness in limbs
- Distended abdomen
- Difficulty urinating / urinating blood
- Severe vomiting, diarrhea or unproductive retching
- Neurologic problems, such as seizures or tremors
- Sudden collapse
- Diabetic or other metabolic emergencies
- Suspect poisoning ( i.e. rat bait, antifreeze, medications…)
- Respiratory conditions, such as pneumonia or asthma
- Cardiac conditions
- Immune related diseases
- Infectious diseases
- Kidney and liver disease
- Peritonitis
- Pancreatitis
- Sepsis management
- Trauma
- Porcupine Quills
- Eye trauma, vision problems
- Fluffed or lethargic birds
- Rabbits that have diminished appetites or diarrhea
- Any exotic pet with abnormal behavior
- Labor that isn’t progressing, neonatal emergencies
Advanced Diagnostic and Monitoring
- Diagnostic imaging such as digital radiography, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and MRI
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring
- Oxygen therapy via oxygen chamber or nasal oxygen
- Chest tube placement and management
- Pericardiocentesis/thoracocentesis
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Blood gas monitoring
- Blood pressure monitoring
- Coagulation testing
- including thromboelastography
- Transfusion therapy (multiple blood components, albumin, etc.)
- Continuous drug infusions
- Mechanical ventilation
- Enteral or parenteral nutrition
- Pain management
- 24 hour veterinarian and nursing staff
If your pet has eaten a potential toxin, gather up any packaging or remains of anything that was eaten, or suspected as having been eaten! This step will help with diagnosis. You may be instructed to call a veterinary poison control center:
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: 888-426-4435
Pet Poison Helpline: 800-213-6680
Please keep your case number available so that our emergency clinician can reference your pet’s case.
We Work with Your Pet’s Primary Veterinarian
The team in our emergency and critical care department work in conjunction with other specialists, along with you and your primary care veterinarian, to provide the comprehensive care your pet needs. Emergency services are under the supervision of board certified veterinary criticalists. Throughout your pet’s hospitalization or treatment, we will keep your primary care veterinarian up to date and work closely together to set up follow up and continued medical care as needed.
Emergency Specialty Care
If your pet is transferred from our Emergency Department to one of our specialists including critical care, we will go through your pet’s treatment recommendations and next steps.
MVMC is equipped with a 24-hour intensive care unit for hospitalized patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Critical care is the continuous support and monitoring of the animal’s needs. Those needs can include oxygen delivery, IV fluids, blood or plasma transfusions, surgery, nutritional delivery, pain control, and of course, TLC. These treatments enhance the quality of care your pet receives during this crucial time, improving the chances of a good outcome.
MVMC has specialists who are board-certified in emergency and critical care. Our criticalists have received extensive training in treating patients experiencing trauma, shock, respiratory issues, and other life-threatening conditions. Read more about what a criticalist does here.
Call (207) 885-1290 for more information.