In the medical realm, imaging describes various processes medical professionals
use to obtain a detailed picture of the body, inside and out. In the last
100 years alone, our ability to identify warning signs on hidden parts
of the body have drastically improved. Salinas Valley Medical Clinic has
stayed on top of these medical advances and equipped itself with high
quality imaging devices so that we can provide patients with optimal diagnostics
and preemptive treatments.
Scanning vs. Surgery
Without being able to see inside the body, doctors have traditionally relied
on surgery to examine a patient with unexplained ailments. This is not
an ideal diagnostic procedure as it puts the patient at risk of infection,
requires a brief stay at the hospital, and is a costly endeavor that may
yield no results. Now surgery is used as a last resort diagnostic measure,
and even then doctors typically employ minimally invasive techniques.
Imaging services and minimally invasive diagnostic surgeries are almost
always done on an outpatient basis. This means patients do not need to
stay in the hospital and can return home shortly after the test.
Salinas Valley Medical Clinic has access to a well-equipped
medical laboratory where we can obtain fast results from blood work, biopsies, tissue samples
and other diagnostics. Results are typically available in 24 to 48 hours.
If the specimen requires expertise beyond our capabilities, we have relationships
with specialized medical labs we can forward the material to for a more
thorough diagnosis. Results from outside labs can take up to 5 days to arrive.
