Peer to Peer Summit Week: Patello-Femoral Joint Disorders

Dr. Bruecker graduated from the University of California at Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. After one year of general small animal practice in Los Angeles, Dr. Bruecker completed an additional year of clinical internship at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group. He received his master of science degree at the completion of a three year surgical residency at Colorado State University and moved back to Ventura County in 1988 to establish specialty veterinary care. Dr. Bruecker is Founder of the Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura, California. Dr. Bruecker has provided regular surgical support for practices in the state of Hawaii since 1996. In 2017, Dr. Bruecker founded COVE (Continuing Orthopedic Veterinary Education) and is an invited speaker through out the global veterinary community. He is an active participate in working groups on elbow dysplasia, shoulder injuries, advanced techniques in small animal arthroscopy and cranial cruciate ligament repair. He has been an innovator in the development of many new surgical techniques and orthopedic implants. He holds a patent for the first locking Triple Pelvic Osteotomy plate used to treat hip dysplasia. The first Board Certified Surgeon in California to also become Board Certified in Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation, Dr. Bruecker's primary clinical interests are spinal surgery, sports medicine, minimally invasive orthopedics and advanced orthopedics. He is well respected for his expertise in arthroscopy, limb deformity, disorders of the knee, fracture management and disorders of the spine. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on Wobbler syndrome, treatment of intervertebral disk degeneration, spinal fracture management and orthopedics. Dr. Bruecker is a past program chair of Neurosurgery for The Annual Surgical Summit for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and a past program chair for The Annual Surgical Summit for the technician program for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He served as the orthopedics program director for The Annual Surgical Summit of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2004 and 2005. He was also program director for orthopedics, pain management and anesthesia for the 2006 American Veterinary Medical Association annual symposium. He is the Co-Chair for the AOVet North America Sports Medicine and Traumatology course in 2019 and 2021. He was the Co-Chair for the AO Vet North America Spinal Surgery Masters Course in 2020 and AO vet North America Surgical Management of Sport Injuries. He is the past program chair for the Association for Veterinary Orthopedic Research and Education (AVORE) from 2005 through 2018. He is Small Animal Orthopedics Program Chair for the Western Veterinary Conference from 2016 through 2022. He is a past Executive Board Member (2004-2007) and is Past-President (2014-2015) of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society. He is a member of the AOVet North America Education Committee and a mentor/coach for new AOVet faculty. Due largely to his commitment to education and training, Dr. Bruecker was chosen as the Veterinarian of the Year by the California Veterinary Medical Association in 2004. The Bruecker family owns and operates avocado and citrus farms in Ventura County. His personal interests are classic cars and a variety of outdoor activities.

Dr. Palmer, a native of Kansas, received his BS and DVM degrees from Kansas State University. He completed an internship at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. He received his small animal surgical residency training and an MS degree (Physiology) from the University of Georgia. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. His veterinary career has spanned both academics (Texas A&M and Colorado State University) and private specialty practice (Silicon Valley/Monterey Bay region of California) as a staff surgeon and as a practice owner. Ross is currently a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Colorado State University and the Associate Director of Education at the Translational Medicine Institute. Dr. Palmer seeks to entertain as he educates in order to make learning an enjoyable and memorable experience. He has been an invited speaker at conferences throughout the USA and the world. He was recently named VMX Speaker of the Year.  He is the founder of the Complete Course on External Skeletal Fixation educating veterinarians from around the world for 25 years. He’s authored > 50 journal articles and book chapters. He is past President of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS), editorial board member of Today’s Veterinary Practice, board member of the VOS, World Veterinary Orthopaedic Congress, North American Veterinary Conference and the Veterinary Surgery Journal. Ross’ personal passions include international travel, cycling, hiking, fishing, and relaxing with his family in their family’s “off the grid” island cabin in remote northwestern Ontario, Canada

Dr. Bleedorn’s educational background includes DVM (the University of Illinois) in 2005, intern (Purdue University) in 2006, surgical intern (Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center) in 2007, and surgery residency (the University of Wisconsin-Madison) in 2010. He completed a master of science degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015 with a project focused on the investigation of mechanically induced signaling events involved in bone adaptation. Dr. Bleedorn is currently a clinical associate professor in small animal orthopedics at Colorado State University. He provided clinical service in orthopedics at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Care; instructed residents, interns, and DVM students; and conducts clinical research within the Comparative Orthopaedic Research Laboratory. Dr. Bleedorn’s research interests comprise several clinical, translational, and educational topics. These include imaging assessment and treatment of bone deformities, 3D printing for surgical planning, biomechanics and augmentation of fracture healing, limb salvage of bone tumors, and mechanisms of cruciate ligament disease in dogs. His educational interests include the development of instructional tools and assessment metrics for surgical training, resident recruitment, and clinic efficiency.

Dr. Fox is a Professor of Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery and Chief of the Small Animal Surgery Service at the University of Missouri’s Veterinary Health Center. He graduated veterinary school from Michigan State University in 1998, after which he completed an internship, surgical residency and PhD at the University of Missouri, eventually becoming faculty in 2004. He teaches courses and lectures on a variety of topics regarding small animal orthopedic surgery both nationally and internationally. Dr. Fox’s special research interest is in limb alignment and deformity correction. He has authored or co-authored 50 peer reviewed papers, 8 text book chapters and numerous abstracts. He pioneered the adaptation and use of the Center of Rotation of Angulation methodology for the quantification and pre-surgical planning of angular limb deformities in dogs. He is a member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Veterinary Orthopedic Society and AO.