Over the past few decades, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has put increased focus on hand hygiene campaigns under the slogan “Clean Hands – Save Lives” following the global recognition of hand hygiene being a key factor in reducing surgical site (SSI) and other hospital associated infections (HAIs). These campaigns have tackled both hand hygiene as part of routine patient care as well as improved pre-surgical hand preparation protocols. But are these methods applicable in veterinary medicine?
This presentation will explore whether' Clean Hands Safe Lives' can become 'Clean Hands Safe Animals'.
The Australian Veterinary Nurse and Technician (AVNAT) Regulatory Council has allocated (1) AVNAT CPD point to this continuing education activity.
Recording from 20 July 2021
Speaker:
Denis Verwilghen
DVM, MSc, PhD, DES, Dipl ECVS
Denis’ interests and expertise lay in general soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery. He has a special clinical interest in surgical head disorders including advanced dentistry procedures.
As a scientist and teacher, he is particularly focused on basic fundamental aspects of clinical practice and biosecurity in veterinary medicine with an emphasis on surgical principles and hand hygiene.
Denis has a broad range of publications on various aspects of equine surgery with a particular focus on asepsis research orthopaedic biomarkers and dentistry. Denis is author or co-author of over 50 international peer reviewed scientific publications, author of 5 book chapters in surgery related books and has presented over 100 presentations at national and international congresses. Denis started his career as an equine veterinarian in private practice in Ireland and the Netherlands immediately after graduation from the University of Ghent, Belgium in 2003. With the desire to improve his skills, Denis went back to academia at the end of 2004 to become a resident in equine surgery at the University of Liege, Belgium. In 2006 he defended a master in veterinary science degree on the subject of "Osteochondrosis and its relationship with IGF-I in the Horse". In 2009 he obtained a specialist diploma (DES) in Large Animal Surgery from the University of Liege and in 2010 Denis successfully passed the exam of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons. Denis then defended his PhD in Liege about the clinical impact of developmental orthopaedic diseases in horses. After spending some time in Sweden as Head of the Equine Surgery Department in Uppsala University, Denis and his wife Gaby, an ECEIM and ECVECC diplomate, moved back to Belgium and started a consultancy based equine medicine and surgery service. In 2013, both took up a position of Associate Professor at the Equine Hospital of the Copenhagen University. In 2017 Denis ran his own private consultancy business, Equine-Specialists, performing peripatetic surgical and dentistry services around the globe. In February 2018, Denis became Head of the Camden Equine Centre where he remained for the next three years. Early 2021, Denis and his family moved back to Europe to join the Altano Group, a large private cooperation of equine veterinary practices based in Germany. Denis remains affiliated with the University of Sydney as an associate professor and continues to participate in research and teaching activities of the school.
