ALEXIS BILMONT
Alexis Bilmont
ECVS diplomate
Orthopedic Surgery ⏐ Willows Referral
Overview
AO VET Member
CES Orthopédie et Traumatologie
VOS Bloomberg Award 2016
Biomedtrix Universal Hip System Certified
Competencies
Minimally Invasive Osteosynthesis: fluoroscopy, MINO, MIPO
Arthroscopy
Total Hip Replacement (BioMedtrix)
Education
ECVS Residency ⏐ Toulouse Vet School - France ⏐ 2012 - 2015
Assistant in Surgery ⏐ Toulouse Vet School ⏐ 2007 - 2009
Internship ⏐ Toulouse Vet School ⏐ 2006 - 2007
Basic Vet Studies ⏐ Alfort Vet School - France⏐ 2001 - 2006
Publications
Vet Surg 1019 ⏐ Vet Surg 1019 ⏐ JAAHA 2018 ⏐ JAAHA 2018 ⏐ VCOT 2018 ResVetSci
2016 ⏐ VCOT 2015 ⏐ VCOT 2010
Leasures
Squash, Cooking, ski, piano
PETER BOETTCHER
Dr. med. vet., Dipl ECVS
Prof. Peter Böttcher completed his veterinary education in Munich, graduating in 1996. He further completed an internship and residency in small animal surgery at the same institution between 1998 and 2002, subsequently achieving Diplomate status in 2004.
In 2002, Dr. Böttcher joined the Department of Small Animal Medicine at the University of Leipzig, where he led the surgical service from 2007 until 2016. He was appointed Associate Professor in 2011 and elevated to Full Professor at the Small Animal Clinic of the Free University of Berlin 2016, serving as the Managing Director from 2017 to 2021.
Dr. Böttcher's research interests focus on joint biomechanics—especially relating to the elbow and stifle joints, arthroscopy, fluoroscopic gait analysis, joint resurfacing, and rapid prototyping techniques for patient-specific solutions.
As of March 2024, Dr. Böttcher has transitioned from academia to co-found the “Mitteldeutsches Kompetenzzentrum für Kleintier,” a privately-owned specialist center in Leipzig, dedicated to advancing modern small animal medicine by leveraging patient-specific solutions developed in collaboration with animalTECH, a company specializing in additive manufacturing of custom implants, surgical guides, and educational models.
SILVIA BOIOCCHI
DVM, PhD, Dipl ECVS, GPCert(SAOS)
Graduated in Milan in 2002, where she also obtained her PhD in Veterinary Clinical Sciences the same year. In February 2003, she joined the Veterinary Surgical Clinic section at the University of Parma, focusing on advancing her expertise in arthroscopic techniques. In December 2006, she earned a PhD in Orthopaedics and Traumatology.
She contributed as the editorial coordinator to the development of the BOA Atlas. In 2020, she became a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons after successfully completing a residency program under the mentorship of Dr. Aldo Vezzoni and Dr. Matteo Tommasini Degna. She has been author of several papers and lectures at national and international conferences.
In 2008, she began working at Clinica Veterinaria Vezzoni in Cremona, where she continues to work as her primary workplace. Since 2022, she has also held a part-time position as an orthopedic surgeon at Ospedale Veterinario San Francesco in Milano. Her professional interests include arthroscopy, sports medicine, and feline orthopedics.
LAURA CUDDY
LAURA CUDDY MVB MS DACVS-SA DECVS DACVSMR DECVSMR MRCVS
EBVS, American, RCVS and VCI Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
EBVS and American Specialist in Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin 2008, First Class Honours, Class Rank 1st/74
- Rotating Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Florida 2008-2009
- Masters and Residency Programme, University of Florida, 2009-2013
- Member of ACVS and ECVS 2014
- Member of ACVSMR 2015 and ECVSMR 2018
CURRENT POSITION
Founder and Director, Veterinary Specialists Ireland, Summerhill, Meath Ireland
Founder and Director, Veterinary Specialists Cork, Little Island, Ireland
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Minimally invasive surgery, elbow biomechanics, arthrology, traumatology
JAN HNIZDO
DVM
1994-2000 veterinary medicine at the Justus Liebig Uni. Giessen, Germany, graduate 10/2000.
2001-2003 surgeon at vet. hospital AA- Vet, Prague
2003 founding referral clinic Animal Clinic, Prague. Since then head surgeon of the clinic (orthopedic and oncologic surgery).
Publications: over 60 scientific papers mostly Czech vet journals, 2007 coauthor of the herpetological monography “Boa constrictor” Hes, Duda et al, Herpetonverlag. 2011 Herpetomedical textbook: “Medical Care of Turtles and Tortoises” Hnízdo, Pantchev (eds), Chimaira Verl. Ffm.
Since 2006 frequent speaker on national and international congresses in Czech Republic, Slovakia (KVL, SAVLMZ, ČAVLMZ) and international meetings (ESVOT workshops / Intrauma symposium / DVG / ARAV congress, WSAVA seminaries, USAWA etc).
Main interest in canine stifle biomechanics and surgery, angular deformity correction, arthroscopy, reptile medicine.
PILAR LAFUENTE
Dr Lafuente graduated in Veterinary Medicine by the University of Zaragoza. Following a rotating internship at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, she completed a PhD on bone lengthening in dogs. She completed a rotating internship at the University of Florida and a residency in small animal surgery at Washington State University. Dr Lafuente became a board certified surgeon by the ACVS & ECVS in 2009. She then worked as a lecturer in small animal orthopedics at the Royal Veterinary College in London. In 2014 Dr. Lafuente became a diplomate by the ACVSMR, and she led the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Service at the RVC. In 2019 Pilar moved to Valencia where she worked as a lecturer and service chief in SAS at the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera.
Nowadays Dr. Lafuente combine her teaching and research activities at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, with her clinical activities as a consultant at VET-CT and as a freelance surgeon. Dr. Lafuente has published scientific papers nationally and internationally, and she has been an invited speaker in national and international conferences. Dr. Lafuente is chief editor of the scientific journal Clín Vet Peq Anim. Her interests include arthroscopy, tendinopathies, osteoarthritis, and sports medicine and rehabilitation.
SORREL LANGLEY-HOBBS
Sorrel Langley-Hobbs MA BVetMed DSAS (Orth) DipECVS FHEA MRCVS
Sorrel Langley-Hobbs graduated from and completed her internship and orthopaedic residency at The Royal Veterinary College, London.
She gained her RCVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery (Orthopaedics) in 1997 and her ECVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery in 1999. She spent six months at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 before she moved back to the UK and worked at Cambridge University until 2013. She has been a Professor in Small Animal Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Bristol since 2013. She was awarded the BSAVA Simon Award in 2012 for outstanding contributions in the field of small animal surgery. She has a particular interest in feline orthopaedics. She has co-edited a textbook on Feline Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Disease in 2009 and Feline Soft Tissue and General Surgery in 2013.
DIANE MELLER
Head Senior Surgeon – Specialist in Small Animal Surgery and Medicine
Dr. Diane Meiler is Head of Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery, and Arthroscopy at Tierklinik Haar. She holds certifications in both small animal medicine and small animal surgery.
She studied veterinary medicine in Budapest and Munich, where she also completed her doctoral thesis. After a two-year assistantship in a referral clinic in Franconia, she joined the Veterinary Hospital in Haar in 2008. There, she completed her specialist training in small animal medicine, followed by further specialization in surgery.
Since 2012, she has held the position of Senior Surgeon, specializing in orthopedic and trauma surgery. Her clinical focus includes the detailed planning and surgical management of complex orthopedic conditions, such as limb deformities and patellar luxations. She also has a strong professional interest in joint replacement procedures.
ANDY MOORES
DVM, BVSc, DSAS(Orth), Dipl ECVS, FRCVS
Andy is a Bristol graduate. He spent 5 years in general practice before returning to Bristol for an ECVS residency. This was followed by 3 years at The Royal Veterinary College as a Lecturer in Orthopaedics and then a jump to private practice, spending 14 years at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists in Hampshire, UK. In 2024 Andy opened The Moores Orthopaedic Clinic (@mooresortho), an independent orthopaedic-only referral centre, also in Hampshire. Andy holds the RCVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery (Orthopaedics) (2004), is a Diplomate of the ECVS (2005), is a RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Orthopaedics (2006) and is a Fellow of the RCVS (2017). He has published widely with over 50 clinical papers to his name. Andy is a member of the Movora Scientific Advisory Board and is the current Chair of the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association.
BRUNO PEIRONE
Position:
Full Professor of Orthopaedics, School of Veterinary Medicine University of Turin
Director of the post-graduated school of Veterinary Surgery in Small Animals
Director of the Clinical Department of the School of Veterinary Medicine University of Turin
Titles: Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences
Publications
Author of 57 ISI papers published on International and Italian journals
Educational Activities
AOVET National and International Faculty
Invited speaker at international and national orthopedics conference and meeting
Scientific Societies position
ESVOT
president since 2022
AOVET
Chair of the Community Development commission since 2018 up to now Member of the International Board since 2006 up to now
Advisory Boards
• Member of Movora “Scientific Advisory Board “ (SAB) since 2022
• Member of Boheringer “Global Osteoarthritis Advisory Board“ since 2022
LISA ADELE PIRAS
DVM, Dipl ECVS
Graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Turin on April 26, 2005, with a thesis titled “Use of the Ilizarov Technique for Fracture Treatment in Dogs and Cats”, supervised by Prof. Bruno Peirone. Obtained the Professional License (Board Examination) at the University of
Turin in November 2005. Completed a PhD program with a thesis on “Limb Alignment”, under the supervision of Prof. Bruno Peirone and Prof. Derek Fox. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of Turin. Speaker at various national and international conferences and courses.
Achieved Diplomate status of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2023.
ESTEBAN PUJOL
Ld Vet, Dipl ECVS
Esteban graduated from the University of Zaragoza in 2004, after undertaking a general internship in 2005 and a surgical internship in 2006 in France (Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d’Alfort) he began a residency in small animal surgery at Centre Hospitalier Veterinaire Frégis (France). In 2012 he
became a Diplomate in Small Animal Surgery.
Esteban has been invited to speak at both national and international meetings and he participates very actively in the training of Spanish Veterinarians. He has published multiple veterinary papers in national and international journals.
He is the clinical director of the Hospital Veterinari Canis in Mallorca (Spain) with special interested in oncologic surgery, minimally invasive surgery and orthopaedics.
GUILLAUME RAGETLY
Guillaume Ragetly is the head of the orthopedic department at the Hospital Frégis in Paris, the biggest multispecialist practice in France.
He was previously a small animal surgery Faculty at the University of Illinois where he first completed a surgical residency and did a PhD in cartilage tissue engineering. He is exclusively practicing orthopedic surgeries and is highly involved with hip replacement, arthroscopies and traumatology.
His clinical interests include joint surgery, iTAP, minimally invasive orthopedic surgery and clinical applications of biomaterials.
ULLRICH REIF
Dr. Ullrich Reif, DACVS/ECVS, EBVS small animal surgery, FTA Kleintiere u. Chirurgie
Born and raised in Germany
Veterinary Medicine at the College of of Turin, Italy
Clinical Fellowship Small Animal Surgery, Michigan State University, USA
Surgical Internship, Universiy Zürich, Switzerland
AO/ASIF International Fellowship, Texas A&M University, USA
Residency in Small Animal Surgery, Michigan State University, USA
Assistant Professor Orthopedic Surgery, Michigan State University, USA
Since 2003 at the Tierklinik Dr. Reif, Böbingen/Schwäbisch Gmünd
AOVET faculty member and course director, AOVET Educational Committee, AOTRAUMA EDUC Germany veterinary representative, ECVS Examination Committee, Board of Regents ECVS, President of the ECVS
PHILIPP SCHMIERER
DVM, Dipl ECVS
2004 – 2010: Studies at the Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover
2010 – 2011: Internship in the Small Animal Clinic of the Foundation University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover
2011 – 2014: Residency (ECVS) in the Department of Small Animal Surgery, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich (CH)
2013: Externship, Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine; Section of Diagnostic Imaging, LA, USA
2014: Externship, Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Section of Small Animal Surgery, NL
2014 – 2015: Assistant Veterinarian in the Department of Small Animal Surgery, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH
2016 – 2019: Senior Veterinarian in the Department of Small Animal Surgery, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH
Since 2019: Veterinary Clinic Posthausen
Since 2021: Partner at the Veterinary Clinic Posthausen
EVA SCHNABL-FEICHTER
Prof. Dr. EVA SCHNABL- FEICHTER, DECVS
Eva Schnabl-Feichter studied Veterinary Medicine at the Veterinary University in Vienna and qualified in 2002. After her studies she worked in private practice in England for one year. During her stay in England she finished her doctoral thesis about Tibial plateau angle measurements in Cats. In 2003 Eva started an internship and completed a residency in small animal surgery under the supervision of Ulrike Matis and Roberto Köstlin at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich/Germany. In 2010 she became a Diplomate ECVS and worked between 2010 and 2013 with Günter Schwarz at the Tierklinik Hollabrunn as senior surgeon. In 2013 she returned to the
Veterinary University in Vienna where she became in October 2022 an appointed Prof. for small animal surgery and is since then head of the small animal surgical clinic at the VetMedUni Vienna.
Eva is part of the faculty of the AO and member of ESVOT, where she is executive secretary. She is lecturer at national and international conferences.
Her research interest focuses on veterinary traumatology and feline orthopaedics.
ROSARIO VALLEFUOCO
DVM, Dipl ESV, Dipl ECVS, MRCVS
Graduated in Veterinary Medicine, Naples (Italy), in 2005. His training includes a rotating internship, a surgical internship and an ECVS residency in Maisons-Alfort (France). He attended and participated as faculty in several workshops and externships in Italy, France, USA, UK, Switzerland. From 2013 to 2014 worked as Surgery Clinician at Utrecht University, and from 2014 to 2016 worked in Paris (France) in a busy referral practice (CHV Fregis). Since 2016 he works in Pride Veterinary Referrals, where is currently Head of Surgical Department. He obtained the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons, and the Diplôme d’Études Superiors Veterinaries, and he is also VSSO and AOVET member. He has been involved as speaker in several national and international meetings, and as author and co-author in different publications focusing on veterinary surgery.
LUCA VEZZONI
Luca Vezzoni, DVM, Dipl. ECVS, GP Cert SAOS, GP Cert CanSpMed.
Graduated on September 27th, 2005 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Parma, with a graduation thesis on cementless total hip replacement in the dog.
Since the same year he started working at Clinica Veterinaria Vezzoni in Cremona mainly dealing with surgery, orthopedics and diagnostic imaging. In 2008 he spent a period of updating at Tufts University in Massachusetts. In 2019 he became a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons after completing a residency program under the supervision of Dr. Aldo Vezzoni for orthopedic surgery and Dr. Giorgio Romanelli for soft tissue surgery.
Vice-president of the Italian Society of veterinary Orthopedics (SIOVET).
Member of SCVI, SCIVAC ESVOT and AO Vet. Since 2008 he has been author of several papers and lectures at national and international conferences.
