Our Soft Tissue Surgery department offers a comprehensive range of surgical procedures and expertise.
How we can help
Soft tissue surgery is the discipline that includes surgical management of most areas of the body other than the nervous and musculoskeletal system. This includes areas such as ENT (ear, nose and throat), thoracic (lung and cardiac), abdominal (hepatic, gastrointestinal, urogenital etc.), skin reconstruction and oncological(cancer) surgeries.
We work closely with the other clinical services in the Small Animal Hospital including Internal Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging, Anaesthesia and Oncology, to ensure the best integrated care for our patients. Our goal is to provide patient-centred care ensuring that we provide the most appropriate treatment that matches the needs of our patients and their owners.
Surgeries we perform
We can provide routine referrals for a comprehensive range of surgical procedures listed below.
Surgeries we perform
Head and Neck Surgeries
- Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Surgery (BOAS)
- Total Ear Canal Ablation (TECA)
- Thyroidectomy
- Salivary mucoceles
- Cervical abscess exploration
Urogenital Surgeries
- Cystotomy / Cystostomy
- Scrotal urethrostomy
- Perineal urethrostomy
Perineal Surgeries
- Anal Sacculectomy
- Perineal hernias
Abdominal Surgeries
- Liver biopsy
- Cholecsytocentesis
- Cholecystectomy
- Gastrotomy
- Gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV)
- Enterotomy
- Enterectomy
- Septic Abdomens
- Splenectomy
- Hernia – diaphragmatic / Prepubic/ Inguinal
Oncological Surgeries
- Axial pattern flaps
- Pinnectomy
- Mass removals
- Scar Revisions
- Lymph node extirpation
Minimally Invasive Surgeries
- Laparoscopic OVE
- Laparoscopic orchidectomy
- Laparoscopic Gastropexy
- Laparoscopic exploration and biopsy – hepatic, pancreatic, renal
Meet the team
Richard Coe MA VetMB CertSAS DipECVS MRCVS
Senior Clinician in Surgery (Soft Tissue)
Richard graduated from Cambridge University in 1998 and after 2 years in general practice pursued a rotating small animal internship at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and surgical residency in Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the University of Bristol. He achieved the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2003 and the Diploma of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2007. Since his residency Richard has gained nearly 20 years of experience of specialist surgery in both university and private specialist practice and spent a period running a peripatetic surgical service in Scotland.
Richard’s main interests are basic surgical biology, teaching surgery to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, urinary tract surgery, reconstructive surgery, and the development of less invasive approaches for some surgically-treated conditions.
Richard has lectured in the UK, Europe and Asia on a variety of surgical topics, particularly emergency surgical procedures.
Matthew EErskine BVM&S, BSAVA PGCertSAS, MRCVS
Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery
Matthew graduated Edinburgh University in 2015 and initially worked in a busy multi-branch first opinion and referral practice in the highlands where he went on to become the clinical director and primary soft tissue surgeon. He gained a certificate in small animal surgery in 2020 and was subsequently awarded Advanced Practitioner status in 2021. Following this he became the clinical lead for Scotland for a group of practices and performed advanced orthopaedic and soft tissue surgeries across the country. Matthew joined the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital in 2022 as a clinician in soft tissue surgery and has particular clinical interests within the fields of laparoscopy, oncological surgery, reconstructive techniques and Brachycephalic obstructive airway disorder.
James Phillips BVMS PgC(SAS) MRCVS
Clinician in Surgery
James Graduated from Glasgow University in 2012. He initially worked in mixed animal practice before moving to small animal only practice in Glasgow.
In 2018 he completed a post graduate qualification in Small Animal Surgery. He became an Advanced Practitioner in 2020 and has spent 3.5 years working as a peripatetic surgeon for CVS offering soft tissue and orthopaedic referral surgery for their practices throughout Scotland. In 2023 he joined the Surgery team at the Glasgow University Small Animal Hospital. He has a keen interest in cruciate disease treatment and fracture repair but also specialises in oncology cases and skin reconstruction.
Iona Macdonald RVN CertVNECC
Registered Veterinary Nurse
Iona qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse from Myerscough College in 2010, further studying for a certificate in Emergency and Critical Care in 2013. She gained experience working in multi-disciplinary referral hospitals before joining our nursing team in 2019.
She is passionate about providing a high standard of care to her patients and can often be found in the wards ensuring her patients have everything they need. As our Senior Surgery Nurse she is responsible for both the orthopaedic and soft tissue cases.
Kendra Yates RVN ISFM CertFN
Registered Veterinary Nurse
Kendra graduated as a Registered Veterinary Nurse from Edinburgh Napier University in 2017. After graduating she worked in a first opinion practice in Ayrshire but left to join the team at the Small Animal Hospital in 2022. Kendra started as a rotating nurse and worked in all areas of the hospital but quickly joined the Soft Tissue and Orthopaedic team, which she thoroughly enjoys.
Kendra has a nursing certificate from International Cat Care in feline nursing and is currently studying towards getting her certificate in surgical nursing. At home she has a senior cat, Tammy, who was adopted from Cats Protection.
