Equine Surgery & Lameness Faculty
Dr. Gary M. Baxter
Dr. Baxter joined the faculty at CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1990 as an assistant professor of equine surgery. Dr. Baxter received his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania, completed an internship, surgery residency, and MS degree from the University of Georgia, and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in 1989. He was a faculty member at the University of Georgia for two years prior to coming to Colorado State University.
Dr. Baxter is currently a professor of equine surgery and the assistant department head for the Department of Clinical Sciences. His clinical interests primarily involve the musculoskeletal system including equine lameness, laminitis, joint conditions, and arthroscopy, but he performs all types of general surgery in horses.
Dr. Baxter joined the faculty at CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1990 as an assistant professor of equine surgery. Dr. Baxter received his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania, completed an internship, surgery residency, and MS degree from the University of Georgia, and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in 1989. He was a faculty member at the University of Georgia for two years prior to coming to Colorado State University. Dr. Baxter is currently a professor of equine surgery and the assistant department head for the Department of Clinical Sciences. His clinical interests primarily involve the musculoskeletal system including equine lameness, laminitis, joint conditions, and arthroscopy, but he performs all types of general surgery in horses.
Dr. Baxter's research efforts have been very diverse over the years. His initial research focused on laminitis and colic in horses but more recently his efforts have dealt primarily with the musculoskeletal system. Recent research projects have focused on the effects of corticosteroids and nutraceuticals compounds on joints as well as improving the surgical treatment of bone spavin, fractures and stifle conditions in horses. Dr. Baxter has served as an ad-hoc reviewer for many research papers over the years and was a scientific reviewer for the Veterinary Surgery journal from 1994-1997. He is currently a member of the Board of Scientific Reviewers for the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Dr. Baxter has trained many equine surgery residents throughout his career that have gone on to become board-certified surgeons in the ACVS. He gives multiple lectures in the professional veterinary curriculum at CSU on topics such as equine respiratory surgery, lameness, fracture repair, reproductive surgery and others. He has been involved in teaching veterinary students good surgical technique and gives several laboratories that focus on improving the students' surgical skills. He supervises the resident/graduate training program within the department where veterinarians come to receive further specialized training after graduating from veterinary school.
Dr. Baxter is currently a member of the Board of Regents for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and has been active in the leadership of this specialty college for several years. He is also serving on the Program Development Committee and the Committee of Education for the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). He has served on numerous committees within CSU and is currently a member of several veterinary organizations such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and the Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS).
Dr. Baxter received recognition for the outstanding research publication by a resident in the Veterinary Surgery journal in 1989 and the outstanding publication in the Equine Veterinary Journal in 1996.
Dr. Laurie Goodrich
Dr. Laurie Goodrich joined the faculty at CSU College of Veterinary Medicine in April of 2005 as an assistant professor in Equine Surgery and Lameness. Prior to joining the faculty she obtained her DVM from the University of Illinois , and completed an internship in Large Animal Surgery and Medicine at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Following her internship Dr. Goodrich joined the faculty at Virginia for one year as an equine ambulatory clinician before going on to complete her residency in Equine Surgery at the Equine Medical Center in Leesburg , VA. She also obtained a Master of Science in Pharmacology during her residency. Dr. Goodrich subsequently joined the large animal surgery faculty at Cornell University 's College of Veterinary Medicine and became Board Certified in Large Animal Surgery in 1999. At Cornell she rotated as Chief-of-Service for the Orthopedic, Soft Tissue and Emergency Surgery Services. In 2000 she began a PhD in Cartilage Repair and Gene Therapy. H er research included the transplantation of genetically modified chondrocytes (cells of cartilage) into the defects of cartilage to improve cartilage healing. She completed her PhD in the fall of 2004.
Dr. Goodrich's clinical interests are broad and include joint disease, lameness, arthroscopy, laparoscopy, upper airway disease, wound healing, neoplasia and pain management.
Dr. Goodrich's research interests are primarily focused on cartilage healing and cartilage repair currently using growth factor gene therapy modalities. Side interests include bone healing and pain management research.
Dr. Sam Hendrix
Dr. Dean A. Hendrickson
Dr. Hendrickson received his DVM degree in 1988 from Colorado State University, and completed an internship and combined Diploma in Veterinary Clinical Studies at the University of Sydney, Sydney Australia in 1989. He then completed a 3 year combined surgical residency and Masters of Science program at Cornell University in 1992. On completion of his residency, he took a position as a Clinical Instructor of Large Animal Surgery at the University of Wisconsin's School of Veterinary Medicine, and was later hired as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1994, and returned to CSU as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in December of that year. He was promoted to the level of Associate Professor of Surgery in 2000 and Professor of Surgery in 2006. He served as the Equine Section Head from 2002-2006, and currently serves as the Large Animal Chief of Staff. Dr. Hendrickson was awarded the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Outstanding Faculty Award in 2004.
He is a member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association.
Clinical Interests:
Dr. Hendrickson is a general surgeon at Colorado State University's James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Clinically he has interests in lameness, especially related to the foot and wound care. He has a special interest in minimally invasive surgery including, laparoscopy, arthroscopy, and flexible endoscopy.
Research Interests:
Dr. Hendrickson's research interests are primarily focused on minimally invasive surgery, operative and post-operative pain relief, and wound care.
Dr. Hendrickson's Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Chris Kawcak
Dr. Chris Kawcak joined the faculty in 1998 and has been in the clinic at the Veterinary Medical Center since July 2006. Dr. Kawcak received his DVM from Colorado State University in 1991, and then interned for one year at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Kawcak then returned to Colorado State University for his residency and PhD. Dr. Kawcak is now an associate professor, and spends most of his time in research at the Orthopaedic Research Center.
Dr. Kawcak’s clinical interests include lameness diagnosis and orthopaedic surgery.
Dr. Kawcak’s research interests include diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disease, as well as development of biomechanical models of joint injury.
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