Hugo Schmökel DrMedVet PhD Dipl ECVS MRCVS

Hugo graduated from the Veterinary Faculty of the Zurich University in 1989. After his doctoral thesis he completed a Residency in Small Animal Surgery at the Veterinary Clinic of the University of Zurich. From 1994 to 1999 he worked in his own referral clinic in Switzerland. In 1999 Hugo entered the program of a clinical PhD at the Federal Technical University in Zurich and worked as an Assistant Professor in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Bern, finishing 2004 with the PhD degree. Hugo specialises in orthopaedic and spinal surgery and in the treatment of fractures and traumatized animals.

The presenting signs and differential diagnosis of cervical spine diseases are discussed. The diagnostics steps including imaging and surgical treatment will be covered using didactic lectures, case examples and a practical session (dorsal and ventral approaches to cervical spine, traction-fusion surgery, ventral stabilization of an unstable cervical spine)

Who should attend:

• Veterinary surgeons with an interest in spinal surgery. These are advanced procedures. Some experience in general joint/fracture surgery and thoracolumbar spine surgery will be advantagous for delegates attending this course.

• Identification of cervical spine disease
• Diagnosis of a cervical spine disease
• Establishing a prognosis
• Surgical treatment of cervical spine disease

By the end of this course delegates should have a thorough understanding of:

• Different type of disc diseases
• Imaging of the cervical spine
• Decision making conservative versus surgical treatment
• Decision making dorsal versus ventral approach
• Performing main surgical procedures