To complement the manual skills training and testing, VALS has now been updated with didactic material made available through the VALS webshop (see link below). Three curricula have been added at this time; Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy (LapAdrenal), Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LapChole) and Laparoscopic Gastropexy (LapGastroPexy).

The Canine Laparoscopic didactic curricula are intended for the veterinary surgeon with basic laparoscopic skill and experience, who is looking to expand into advanced laparoscopic procedures.

The curricula contain canine-specific didactic content in both written and short video lecture form. To stimulate learning, short quizzes can be taken an unlimited number of times.

The surgical procedures are demonstrated and important steps explained … » More …

A new VALS center has opened at Cornell University under leadership of ACVS Founding Fellow MIS (Laparoscopy/Thoracoscopy) Dr. Nicole Buote. Dr. Buote is also President of the Veterinary Endoscopy Society (2024-2025), and VALS is very honored for her engagement. This makes VALS testing and training more accessible for surgeons/residents on the east coast. If you are interested in pursuing VALS at Cornell University please contact Dr. Buote at njb235@cornell.edu.

Dr. Ingrid Balsa, U California Davis,  was the first ACVS Fellow Candidate in Minimally Invasive Surgery (small animal soft tissue) passing the VALS requirement. She braved the winter storms in WA state, traveling from considerably warmer CA, arrived safely and passed her test on December 16th, 2019. Congratulations!

On May 17, 2019, Dr. Barbara Dyall made history as the first non-US VALS certified individual, with a close to perfect score! Dr. Dyall has recently completed an ECVS residency at the Evidensia Specialist Animal Hospital in Strömsholm, Sweden. Congratulations!

Dr. Dyall was focused on work at hand in the VALT laboratory at WSU in Pullman.

Dr. Alex Fox-Alvarez from University of Florida made history on October 11, 2017, as he obtained the first ever VALS certificate. Testing occured at the ACVS surgical summitt in Indianapolis.

Dr. Fox-Alvarez kept his nerves in check, and performed excellently.

Please join us in congratulations to Dr. Fox-Alvarez.