VetSpecs

Dr Brent Higgins

BVSc, CertSAS, Diplomate ECVS, Consultant Surgeon

Registered Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Brent became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2011. He  was then admitted to the status of New Zealand Registered Specialist in Small Animal Surgery soon after. Brent's primary focus is treating immobility, with his main interests being spinal conditions, fracture repair, joint disease, arthroscopy, minimally invasive surgery and presenting post-graduate veterinary education.

Brent grew up in Twizel and graduated from Massey University in 2000. Two years in Australian cattle practice and four years in British small animal practice grew an enthusiasm for surgery and lead to the position as an assistant surgeon at a British referral cancer centre, the VRCC.

In 2006, Brent was accepted to the position of Resident in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Liverpool. This provided 3 years of intensive surgical training from a veterinary school famous for advanced orthopaedics, (especially arthroscopy and joint replacement), minimally invasive surgery and oncology.

Brent was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2008. He has contributed to British veterinary publications and presented surgical topics in Britain, the USA, Serbia and New Zealand. He underwent training in the USA in fracture management and in France in surgical stapling, as well as completing externships at North Carolina State University, the University of Florida and with Britain’s pioneers of limb prostheses, Fitzpatrick Referrals.

His research has focused on novel methods in external skeletal fixation to manage complex orthopaedic conditions and novel methods of diagnosing spinal disease in dogs. Brent’s current interest is in the field of implant osteointegration – he is part of a team headed by the innovative surgical implant designer, Ossis, researching technologies to encourage bone and tissue to grow into, rather than onto, implants.  The future is for implants to become living parts of the body rather than foreign-particle additions.

Brent completed his specialist training with the support of Dr. Helen Milner and the team at Vetspecs, Christchurch, where he currently works as a surgeon.

Outside of work, Brent enjoys Ceroc dancing, music, meditation, spending time with friends, sports involving water or snow, and living joyfully.