The small animal surgery residency program at Texas A&M University is able to provide a wide exposure to soft tissue surgery, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. The goals of our residency are to provide the resident with the skills to pass the current American College of Veterinary Surgeons board certification examination, and to be competitive for the academic or private practice career of their choice after finishing the residency. We currently have 6 ACVS diplomates (Drs. Phil Hobson, Lisa Howe, Bianca Hettlich, Don Hulse, Sharon Kerwin, and Laura Peycke), and one ACVIM diplomate in neurology (Dr. Jon Levine) actively involved in the daily, hands-on training of residents.
In addition, Dr. Terry Fossum, author of Small Animal Surgery, oversees an active cardiovascular research program with clinical components for specialized cardiovascular procedures (for example, cardiopulmonary by-pass) and thoracic surgery (chylothorax). We have a diversity of years of experience (Drs. Hobson, Howe, Hulse and Kerwin each have been training residents for over 15 years, in some cases much longer!) combined with recent boards experience and exposure to different caseloads and training (Drs. Levine, Hettlich, and Peycke are all certified in the last 5 years and have experience at several universities and private practices).
On the orthopedic side, Dr. Hulse is a leader in veterinary arthroscopy and conducts arthroscopy labs for the residents on a monthly basis. Dr. Hulse is also the current president of AO Vet, an international organization devoted to orthopedic research, which gives us access to some great new products and techniques before they come on the market. Our busy emergency service allows for a good balance of orthopedic cases including fractures and more routine (cruciate, elbow, etc) cases. Drs. Hulse, Kerwin, and Peycke are all actively involved both in clinics and in collaborative research as a group.
In soft tissue surgery, we are fortunate to have a diverse and busy caseload. Drs. Hobson, Howe, Hettlich, and Peycke all participate in the clinical aspects of soft tissue surgery and have research interests including airway surgery, portosystemic shunts, and gastric dilatation-volvulus. The soft tissue service has an excellent working relationship with a very strong internal medicine section as well as with our two critical care specialists.
The neurology section is led by Dr. Jon Levine, and Drs. Hettlich and Kerwin provide additional neurosurgical expertise. Surgery residents rotate through the service and are trained in diagnostic techniques including imaging and electrodiagnostics, as well as a strong caseload in neurosurgery, particularly spinal surgery. Drs. Levine, Hettlich, and Kerwin have an active collaborative research program primarily focused on inter-vertebral disk disease.
Didactic resident training includes mock ACVS boards twice yearly, specialty resident rounds weekly, and a weekly seminar series presented by all of the interns and residents over the course of the year. Surgery residents also have the opportunity to participate in cytology rounds, cardiology rounds, and other sessions provided strictly for the residents by the faculty on a rotating basis. We are very proud of our residency program: recent graduates include Dr. Jennifer Au (Michigan State University), Dr. Ursula Krotscheck (Cornell University), Dr. Wendy Baltzer (Oregon State University), and our own Dr. Bianca Hettlich (Texas A&M University....WHOOP!).
