Dermatology

The dermatology department offers assistance in the diagnosis and treatment of skin and ear diseases, thanks to the collaboration of two experienced veterinarians.

Skin diseases are common in pets. They represent 20 to 25% of the reasons for consultation. In addition to parasite problems, allergies are a classic cause of chronic itching (pruritus). Ear problems ("otitis") are also an important reason for consultation. Otitis is mainly managed in dermatology as it is an inflammation of the skin lining the ear canal of the outer ear. In pets, the main signs of otitis are itchy ears or even a head that is shaken more or less violently (in humans, otitis is mainly characterised by pain).

Consultation and diagnosis 

Diagnosis is only part of our work because skin problems are sometimes very persistent (chronic) and the choice of treatment and especially its adaptation to the individual is a daily challenge.

The dermatology consultation allows us to help our patients and their masters but also to educate the students of the last years in this discipline.

When to consult?

• Does your pet lick, chew or scratch a lot? Does he shake his head all the time?
• Your pet has secretions in the ears that do not disappear despite treatment.
• Your pet has extensive, localised hair loss, pimples, scabs or dandruff, a skin lump, a bad skin smell.
• You have consulted your usual vet but the problem persists. Do not hesitate to ask him if it would not be appropriate to refer your animal to us.

Services offered

• Clinical dermatological examination, identification of skin lesions and their location
• Videotoscopy: endoscopic examination of the ear canal
• Cleaning of the ears
• Skin scraping (search for parasites)
• Cytological examination (identification of inflammatory cells, bacteria, fungi, tumour cells, etc.)
• Allergy tests for environmental allergens
• Skin biopsies
• Implementation and explanation of general and topical treatments

In practice

The dermatology consultation is generally quite long (1 hour for the first visit). Indeed, the information gathered from the owners (history) of the dogs and cats helps us enormously. It is therefore important to gather the history of the condition, the list of treatments carried out (the name of medicines, lotions, creams, shampoos, etc., foodstuffs tried, antiparasitics used) and to bring a copy of any blood analysis or even a skin biopsy.

After a clinical examination carried out by a final year student (6th year), the clinician in charge will supervise the work and decide which additional examinations to carry out. The clinician in charge will then explain the diagnosis and proposed treatment in the presence of the students and the animal's owners. For chronic conditions, a follow-up visit is often offered after 2-3 weeks of treatment. The follow-up visit is usually shorter (30 minutes). For persistent problems, regular visits may be useful. Unfortunately some skin diseases cannot be cured, so the aim is to stabilise the condition and make it possible to live as comfortably as possible with the disease. As these conditions can vary over time, it will sometimes be necessary to adapt treatments to the current situation.

Our team

European specialist in veterinary dermatology (Dipl ECVD)			Clinician
Dr Caroline LEONARD			Dr Isabelle REMY