3/26 Update: (2) spots available for the 1-5pm feline session.

Please click the link below to register 

RIVMA Spring Wet Lab

Thursday, April 3, 2025

The Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association is pleased to offer two small animal surgical wet labs on Thursday, April 3 with Raymond Kudej, DVM, PhD, DACVS.

This is a special opportunity to participate in small group (12 participants per session) wet labs at the Rhode Island Medical Reserve Corps’ Training, Innovation, and Leadership Institute in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Please note that the Wet Lab is limited to veterinarians. 

Common Techniques in Soft Tissue Surgery: Canine

Thursday, April 3rd, 8:00am-12:00pm

Limited to 12 participants

4 CE Credit Hours – RACE approval pending

This half-day course will provide participants with the knowledge, skills and experience to confidently perform a variety of common surgical procedures in dogs. Emphasis will be placed on the technical aspects used to perform each procedure and maximizing “hands-on” time in the workshop, with two participants per station.

Teaching will be similar to resident training. For the first hour, Dr. Kudej, a board-certified surgeon, will perform each surgical procedure on a cadaver while discussing important considerations and common errors.  “Hands-on” training will follow, with supervision to individually tailor learning and surgical proficiency for each participant.

The canine workshop includes: forelimb amputation; hindlimb amputation; laryngeal tie-back; anal sacculectomy; and incisional gastropexy.

Common Techniques in Soft Tissue Surgery: Feline

Thursday, April 3rd, 1:00pm-5:00pm

Limited to 12 participants

4 CE Credit Hours – RACE approval pending

This half-day course will provide participants with the knowledge, skills and experience to confidently perform a variety of soft tissue surgery procedures in cats. Emphasis will be placed on the technical aspects used to perform each procedure and maximizing “hands-on” time in the workshop, with two participants per station.

Teaching will be similar to resident training. For the first hour, Dr.Kudej, a board-certified surgeon, will perform each surgical procedure on a cadaver while discussing important considerations and common errors. “Hands on” training will follow, with supervision to individually tailor learning and surgical proficiency for each participant.

The feline workshop includes: perineal urethrostomy using a dorsal recumbency approach; forelimb amputation; hindlimb amputation; E-tube placement; and chest drain placement.

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Thank you to Securos Surgical for their generous support of RIVMA's Spring Wet Lab.   

Raymond Kudej, DVM. PhD, DACVS Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University

Dr. Ray Kudej is an associate professor and small animal soft tissue surgeon at Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He received his undergraduate Biochemistry and DVM degree and completed a combined Small Animal Surgery Residency / PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Iowa State University. His postdoctoral fellowship was at Harvard Medical School studying cardiovascular pathophysiology (ischemia tolerance, metabolism, role of nitric oxide). Dr. Kudej was an assistant professor at Penn State College of Medicine and is an adjunct associate professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is an ACVS diplomate, a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and Section Editor at the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. Dr. Kudej was recently featured on the CBS daytime show, “The Drs.”

WET LAB TUITION

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Registration Check In will open at 7:30 am.

Hot and cold beverages will be available.

Lunch will be provided for participants who register for both AM and PM sessions.