303.225.0960“THE COURSE WAS SO WELL DONE THAT IF I HAD THE EQUIPMENT TOMORROW,
I’D FEEL COMFORTABLE STARTING TO PERFORM PROCEDURES.”
Garth Waddoups, DVM,
Mountain River Veterinary Hospital (Rigby, ID)
“HAVING HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE WITH LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY MYSELF,
I KNEW THIS WAS SOMETHING WE WANTED TO EXPLORE FOR OUR CLINIC.”
Kevin Lamczyk, DVM, and Jo Lynn Lamczyk, DVM,
Lamczyk Veterinary Clinic (Mount Vernon, IL)
If you’re on the fence about attending “Practical Single-Port Laparoscopy for the General Practitioner” hosted by Biovision’s partner the Center for the Advancement of Rigid Endoscopy (C.A.R.E.) in Littleton, CO on November 10, 2016, the experience of three recent attendees may help you decide.
Garth Waddoups, DVM, operates a mixed practice at Mountain River Veterinary Hospital in Rigby, ID. There really is no “typical day” in the practice. Dr. Waddoups and his team might be repairing a torn cranial cruciate ligament on a Labrador retriever, performing artificial insemination on a horse, and checking the health of a herd of beef cattle.
“There’s a clinic in southwest Idaho — the other side of the state — that performs laparoscopic spays, and that’s how I first learned about the modality,” said Dr. Waddoups. “I then did some web searches about it. I teach laser surgery, and I happened to be instructing out at Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, Colorado. That’s the practice of Dr. Ray Cox, who teaches the Practical Single-Port Laparoscopic Procedures CE course along with Dr. Markee Kuschel. I knew this was something I wanted to check out, so I signed up for the July session.”
“The first half of the day, the course covered the advantages of laparoscopy over conventional surgery. We also learned how to market laparoscopic services and how to ensure we could be profitable with the equipment. The second half of the day was the hands-on wetlab. Both parts together just validated everything I thought about laparoscopy as the way to go. The course was so well done that if I had the equipment tomorrow, I’d feel comfortable starting to perform procedures.”
“Taking the course was sure worthwhile. After 26 years in practice, I still do new things every week, and courses like this allow me to grow and offer a better level of service to my clients and patients.”
Jo Lynn Lamczyk, DVM and Kevin Lamczyk, DVM operate Lamczyk Veterinary Clinic, a mixed practice in Mount Vernon, IL, caring for the smallest exotic pets up to the largest horses with services ranging from acupuncture to surgery to physical therapy and more.
“I first became interested in the laparoscopic modality a few years ago when I saw it at a veterinary convention” said Dr. Kevin. “Not too long after, I had laparoscopic surgery on myself. There was so much less pain. Having had a great experience with laparoscopic surgery myself, I knew this was something we wanted to explore for our clinic. We’re not aware of any vets in our area who offer the laparoscopic modality, so we think this is something that can really set our clinic apart.”
Both Dr. Jo Lynn and Dr. Kevin enjoyed the low student-to-instructor ratio of the course, which allows for in-depth, personal teaching. “We each performed two lap spays and a prophylactic gastropexy for GDV,” said Dr. Kevin. “I really enjoyed the GDV surgery and can see how this can be a valuable part of our practice. We also appreciated that this truly was a learning experience. We never felt pressured to buy, and we could tell that the instructors genuinely wanted to show us the modality and its advantages, then have us make up our own minds.”