AO VET North America Board

Dr. José M. García-López, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, Dipl. ACVSMR American College of Veterinary Surgeons American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Associate Professor Large Animal Surgery Department of Clinical Studies - New Bolton Center University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine José obtained his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 and went on to complete a 1-year Equine Internship at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center (Ringoes, New Jersey, USA) followed by a 3-year Large Animal Surgical Residency with a special focus on Equine Sports Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2001. Following his residency, José obtained a Lecturer position in the Section of Equine Sports Medicine and Imaging at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania where he remained for 2 years. From 2002 through 2022, he returned to Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant, then Associate Professor in Large Animal Surgery, where he helped develop the Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery Service of which he served as its Director from 2014-2022. He became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2013. While at Tufts, he focused his work on the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal disorders as well as the use of advanced imaging in the equine athlete. In 2022, he returned to the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center where he is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery, with a focus on equine orthopedics including arthroscopy and fracture repair, lameness diagnosis and treatment, and advanced imaging. Dr. García-López is also a faculty member of AO VET North America (AO VET NA), of which he is currently serving as Chair. He regularly lectures and provides consultations at the national and international level.

Dr. Laurent Guiot is a world-class orthopedic surgeon with a passion for excellence. He obtained his degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Liege (Belgium) in 2004 and completed a general internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the same institution. Laurent then worked for one year in Paris where he was in charge of the general surgery program. He rejoined academia in 2006 as an international surgical fellow at Michigan State University where he also completed a three-year residency program with a strong emphasis in orthopedic surgery and focus in minimally invasive osteosynthesis under Dr. Loic Dejardin’ s mentorship. He became boarded by the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Surgeons in 2011. Following his residency, Laurent became an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and an attending orthopedic surgeon at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Michigan State University. He was then recruited to lead the creation of a new orthopedic surgery facility for the Ohio State University in Dublin, Ohio. In 2016, he created the Bone & Joint Center at ACCESS in Los Angeles with Dr. Reunan Guillou. This center is establishing itself as one of the prime location for advanced orthopedics and includes a comprehensive total joint replacement center, a strong minimally invasive orthopedic surgery program, and a tertiary referral service for revision cases. Dr. Guiot’s major interest is orthopedic trauma and minimally invasive orthopedic surgery. He routinely presents his work internationally and is an active member of major national and international orthopedic programs including the Veterinary Orthopedic Society, the AO, and the Orthopedic Research Society. Laurent is committed to the improvement of patient care through the development of surgical techniques, instrumentation, and implants used for the treatment of orthopedic patients.

Dr. Kyla Ortved is an Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery at New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania in Kennett Square, PA. She received her DVM degree from the University of Guelph in 2006 and completed her large animal surgical residency at Cornell University in 2010. Kyla became boarded with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2011. Following her residency, Kyla went on to obtain a PhD in equine cartilage repair at Cornell University. She received her PhD in June 2014 and joined the faculty at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in July 2015. In January 2016, Kyla became boarded with the American College of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. She joined the faculty at New Bolton Center in February 2016 as a large animal orthopedic surgeon. Her research program at New Bolton Center focuses on orthopedic disease and investigating gene and cell therapies to improve cartilage repair and prevent osteoarthritis. Dr. Ortved has completed the Faculty Education Program.

Dr. Shanti Jha, earned a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) with honors from Nagpur Veterinary College, Maharashtra, India in 2001. After BVSc, he did an MS from Oregon State University in 2005. Dr. Jha was a general small animal physician for one and a half years in Syracuse, NY after completing an ECFVG certification from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He then completed a surgical internship at Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado, Loveland in 2009. Following this, he completed a Small Animal Surgery Residency at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in July 2012. In 2013 Dr. Shanti Jha became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (board-certified small animal surgeon). Before coming to AMSC, Dr. Jha spent time working as Chief of Surgery at VCA Veterinary Specialist of Seattle for the last four years (2012-2016), building an efficient team that helped him in helping small animals needing surgical services. Currently, Dr. Jha works at Pet Specialists of Austin in the capacity of Chief Surgeon. Apart from general orthopedic and soft tissue surgeries, Dr. Jha has also been heavily trained in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques. He has been doing minimally invasive fracture repairs and arthroscopic correction of joint abnormalities for the last four years. Dr. Jha is also an AOVET faculty and enjoys teaching orthopedic courses in the US and abroad. His orthopedic areas of expertise include arthroscopy, fracture management of limbs and spine, angular limb deformity correction and joint surgeries. His other orthopedic interest includes joint replacement surgeries like total hip arthroplasty (THA) in dogs. Dr. Jha also held the position of The National Director of Surgery for Thrive 'Pet Care till Jan 2021..