Susan Nelms, DVM, MS, DAVCO

Dr. Nelms is a graduate of the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a post-doctoral surgery and medicine internship at The Animal Medical Center in New York City.   Upon completion of her residency in ophthalmology at North Carolina State University, she became a Board Certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology in 1993. Dr. Nelms also serves as a consulting ophthalmologist for the Birmingham Zoo and the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham. Her special interests in ophthalmology include cataracts and other intraocular surgeries.

Jana Korsch, DVM, DACVO

Dr. Korsch received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Mississippi State University. She completed a one-year internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Korsch completed her three-year ophthalmology residency at Veterinary Eye Care in 2007. In 2008 she successfully fulfilled all testing requirements for the board examination and became a Board Certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmology. Her special interests in ophthamology include ocular manifestations of feline infectious disease, corneal disease and surgery.

Surgery
 

David L. Dismukes, DVM, MS DACVS
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons

Dr. Dismukes received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University in 2004. He

completed a one-year internship in small animal medicine and surgery at LSU's School of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. He then went on to complete a 4-year residency in small animal surgery at the University of Missouri where he concurrently obtained a Masters Degree.  He completed board certification in 2009 and is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS).

Dr. Dismukes provides diagnosis and surgical resolution for a wide variety of surgical diseases. This includes general surgery, head/neck surgery, chest and abdominal surgery, spinal/disc surgery, oncologic (tumor) surgery, fracture repair, joint disease and ligament/tendon disorders.

Dr. Dismukes has a special interest in providing minimally invasive surgical options to his patients via laparoscopy/thoracoscopy, athroscopy, and flouroscopy.  These allow for advanced diagnostics and least invasive therapies through small incisions, providing shortened hospital stays and faster, more comfortable recovery from surgery.  A few examples of laparoscopic/thoracoscopic procedures include spay, laparoscopy-assisted gastropexy (bloat prevention), liver biopsy, kidney biopsy, laparoscopy-assisted intestinal biopsy, and cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal), lung biopsy, pericardectomy, pleural biopsy, and lymph node biopsy.  Examples of diseases treatable by arthroscopy include cruciate ligament disease, meniscal tears, elbow dysplasia, and osteochondrosis dessicans (OCD).

Appointments can be made for Dr. Dismukes to evaluate your pet by asking your family veterinarian for a referral to the Surgery Service at Alabama Veterinary Specialists.

Emergency Medicine/Critical Care Service
 

Brandon Hughes, DVM

Dr. Hughes received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

from the Mississippi State University College of

Veterinary Medicine in 2008. Dr. Hughes completed a

one-year rotating internship in Small Animal Medicine

and Surgery at MSU. His special interests include internal

medicine, endocrinology, and ophthalmology.

Grace Woodrell, DVM

Dr. Woodrell received her Bachelor of Science and

subsequently her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree

from the Mississippi State University College of

Veterinary Medicine in 2006. She has several years private

practice experience and a keen interest in emergency

medicine and critical care.

Ultrasonography/Imaging

Erica D. Baravik, DVM

Dr. Baravik received her Bachelor of Science in

biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Mississippi

State University in 1999. Dr. Baravik is a 2003 graduate

of the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary

Medicine and completed her Diagnostic Imaging

Internship at MSU in 2004. She has completed advanced

professional training in abdominal ultrasound at the

Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists and her cardiology and

doppler echocardiography training at the Colorado State

University. Dr. Baravik is in her second year of

Radiology residency at MSU and serves as Clinical

Instructor of Diagnostic Imaging at MSU. Her special

interests include thoracic and cardiac disease.