Animal Hospital of Largo Zaps Pets’ Pains Away

With the technological advances in medicine (for humans) taking leaps and bounds, it comes as no surprise that veterinary medicine is following suit. Over the past 25 years, lasers have been making their way into an increasing amount of animal surgeries and, more recently, laser therapy in animals has been on the rise. Animal Hospital of Largo is keeping pace with these advances, employing lasers in surgery and therapy for seven and three years, respectively–time that has been spent learning all aspects of the method and consequently, enhancing the benefits for their furry patients.
The surgical application of lasers involves a very small, high-energy beam of light that vaporizes a thin film of tissue, creating an incision. Laser incisions don’t bleed and they heal very rapidly, making laser surgery much cleaner than traditional methods. Moreover, laser incisions are shown to be less painful than traditional incisions and have reduced risks of infection. As a result, laser surgery in animals takes less time than traditional methods, allowing Dr. Mike to use less anesthetic on patients, further increasing the procedure’s safety, precision and efficiency.
Though the benefits of lasers are overwhelmingly demonstrated in veterinary practice surgically, they don’t stop there. The therapy laser uses a different form of laser light to interact with the tissue to not only treat infections, painful conditions and inflammatory diseases, but also to stimulate and promote wound healing, including for surgical incisions.
Animal Hospital of Largo customizes each laser therapy session to the individual patient depending on their needs and response to the treatment. Laser therapy is comfortable for pets, seen by the many wagging tails during procedures. Furthermore, Animal Hospital Largo invites pet owners to stay during their pet’s procedure to witness the rapid cause and effect relationships seen with laser therapy. Even just one treatment can prove beneficial, with animals suddenly enjoying youthful acts again.

Michael R. Banull, D.V.M.
Medical Director
Awarded Paw Fest 2013
Veterinarian of the Year
Presented by the Kiwanis Club of
Largo/Mid Pinellas County

Stephanie Jourdenais, D.V.M.
Assistant Medical Director

• Routine Vaccinations
• Wellness Plans
• Preventative Medicine
• Travel Certifications
• Microchipping
• Laser Therapy
• Surgical Laser
• Dentistry
• In-house Laboratory
• Radiology & Ultrasound
• Penn-Hip Certified / OFA
• Acupuncture