We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Katheryn Wolfe has joined our practice as a Staff Neurologist here at Center for Veterinary Specialty Care.

Dr. Wolfe obtained her DVM from Texas A & M in 2005. She then completed a Neurology internship at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, and a Small Animal rotating internship at Carolina Veterinary Specialists. Dr. Wolfe has most recently completed a three year residency in Neurology at Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital, where she also received her Doctor of Veterinary Science in Neurology. Dr. Wolfe has special interests in Neurosurgery, intracranial disease, and physical therapy.

We are also expanding our Neurology / Neurosurgery service to include a three year residency program. Many of you have spoken on the phone with Dr. Robert Rushing, who has been doing a specialty internship with our Neurology group over the last year. We are very excited that he has accepted the residency position with our practice. Dr. Rushing graduated from University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008, and did his rotating internship at Texas A & M. Dr. Rushing is particularly interested in Neurosurgery and treatment of brain tumors.

Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Rushing are joining our busy Neurology / Neurosurgery service, where we routinely treat patients with intervertebral disc disease, spinal fractures, meningitis, seizures, congenital malformations such as hydrocephalus and syringomyelia, vestibular syndromes, neuromuscular diseases, and tumors of the central nervous system.

Our department is supported by a 24 hour ICU and Critical Care service that is overseen by Dr. Lisa Thompson, our Emergency and Critical Care specialist. Our ICU is able to provide state of the art care and monitoring for our Neurology and post-op Neurosurgery patients. The Critical Care team also supports our busy Internal and Surgery services, so that we are able to provide the most comprehensive care for our patients.

With the addition of Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Rushing to our staff, we will be able to more promptly accommodate your referrals and requests for consultation. Center for Veterinary Specialty Care is now the premiere referral center for all of your Neurosurgery and medical Neurology cases. We are here to support you as the referring veterinarian, in the care of your patients and clients. Please do not hesitate to call on us if we can be of assistance to your practice.

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Center for Veterinary Specialty Care is participating in a multi-center clinical trial, investigating medical therapies for severe intervertebral disc disease.

Severe acute intervertebral disc herniations (IVDD) are a common problem in dogs currently treated by surgical decompression of the spinal cord. However, there is a lot of controversy as to whether adjunctive medical therapy is also beneficial. The two drugs that are advocated for use are a high dose regimen of methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) and a relatively new drug called polyethylene glycol (PEG).

This blinded, prospective clinical trial will compare MPSS, PEG, and saline placebo as adjunctive medical therapies to surgical decompression in dogs with acute intervertebral disc herniations. The data generated will represent the first objective information on the medical management of acute disc herniations in dogs. We hope to resolve the controversies surrounding the medical treatment of this common disease and to improve the outcomes for our patients.

*Please go to our "Forms" section for the complete infomation on this study.

The Center for Veterinary Specialty Care, in conjunction with the North Texas Emergency Pet Clinic, is pleased to announce the addition of Dr Lisa Thompson, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care to our staff. Dr Thompson joins us from Aspen CO and will have an immediate impact on the level of critical care in the DFW Metroplex.

Dr Thompson will join Dr Julie Ducote to create the only veterinary practice in North Texas that has a board certified criticalist and board certified neurologist. This, along with the other specialists and emergency clinicians, will lead to the most comprehensive specialty and emergency care available under one roof.

Dr Thompson has interests in many facets of emergency and critical care medicine and will be available for consultation or emergency transfer beginning October 6, 2009. Please join us in welcoming her to the area, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the hospital at 972-820-7099.

Dr Gulikers is now available for consults Monday through Thursday. He offers a wide range of diagnostics for patients including, but not limited to, thoracic and abdominal ultrasound, echocardiography, endoscopy, laparoscopy, chemotherapy, bone marrow and needle biopsies.