Conditions treated
Learn which conditions our specialty team can help diagnose and treat, so your pet gets the right care for their needs.
Success stories
Discover how other pets have overcome their diagnoses with specialized care, giving you hope for your pet’s recovery.
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Skylos Sports Medicine’s surgery department combines the expertise of board-certified surgeons with advanced surgical instrumentation to achieve unparalleled patient outcomes in orthopedic surgery.
From the common to the complex, covering the entire musculoskeletal system, our surgery department is equipped and experienced in diagnosing and treating all orthopedic conditions through all life stages of the canine and feline companion.
Many orthopedic conditions are not straightforward to diagnose but obtaining an accurate and timely diagnosis is essential to maximize patient well-being. The first step is to schedule an appointment.
If your pet has a condition or injury that requires advanced care and procedures, you’ll have an entire surgery team helping to improve your pet’s quality of life so you can get back to what matters most – spending precious moments together.
Your pet will receive unparalleled medical care during their time at the hospital (and they’ll be spoiled with love and attention, too).
Your pet can’t tell us what’s wrong, so we use sophisticated diagnostics and imaging tools to uncover the source of the problem.
Just as no two patients are the same, neither are their treatment plans. Our surgery team has experience with a range of advanced procedures and minimally invasive options to get your pet on the path to wellness, including:
Experience makes all the difference.
Our surgery team is made up of veterinarians, vet technicians and assistants, and support staff with rigorous training and experience in specialty medicine. The team works hand in hand to provide the comprehensive, compassionate care your pet needs and deserves. Because we’re a multidisciplinary hospital, the team can consult the expertise of other specialty departments, too.
With over a decade of experience as a board-certified surgeon, Dr. Fink focuses exclusively on orthopedic surgery, including fracture repair, angular limb deformity correction, total hip replacement and minimally invasive surgical techniques. He uses advanced technologies such as 3D printing to create patient-specific models that assist in planning complex orthopedic procedures.
Dr. Fink is a passionate educator who shares his knowledge through lectures and by training surgical residents in advanced techniques and skills. He enjoys working closely with pet owners and veterinary colleagues to ensure they fully understand diagnoses and treatment options, and is always happy to “nerd out” about biomechanics, implant design and 3D printing.
Outside the hospital, Dr. Fink has been affectionately accused by his siblings of being a “hobby thief,” dabbling in fine art, woodworking, digital design and 3D printing. He enjoys spending time with his wife and son, as well as their chickens and three dogs.
Dr. David Hummel is passionate about arthroscopy and minimally invasive orthopedic surgery. He thrives on the relationships he forms with clients and patients, striving to provide the highest level of care to each patient and clear communication with every client.
Dr. Hummel is a surgical consultant for the Veterinary Information Network and mentors veterinary students at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. He has published several peer-reviewed research articles on topics including total hip replacement, management of long bone fractures, and cranial cruciate ligament injury and stifle stabilization.
Dr. Hummel and his wife, Katie, who is also a veterinarian, share two children, two dogs and one cat. When not spending time with his family, Dr. Hummel enjoys fishing, gardening and woodworking.
Dr. Sean Kennedy’s clinical interests include stifle surgery, orthopedic oncology and fracture and trauma surgery. He enjoys developing relationships with both patients and their human companions, striving to meet client expectations by providing personalized care.
Having grown up in a family of carpenters, mechanics and teachers, Dr. Kennedy received his first toolbox at the age of six, which kickstarted his passion for taking things apart to understand not only how they work but how to fix them when they break. Combining his love of animals and teaching with his passion for working with his hands and restoring function led him to veterinary surgery. Dr. Kennedy instructs workshops on fracture repair and locking plate technology for Orthomed, an international implant manufacturer.
During the process of relocating to Frederick, Dr. Kennedy began converting his garage into a workshop with plans to restore his 1983 Jeep CJ8 pickup. He shares his home with a lovable and high-energy Jack Russell terrier/beagle mix named Obi. An all-seasons outdoor enthusiast, Dr. Kennedy enjoys hiking, camping, rock climbing, scuba diving and snow skiing in his spare time.
Dr. Jess Leasure is passionate about minimally invasive orthopedic surgery and orthopedic oncology. She is also interested in improving the management of end-stage osteoarthritis, which keeps her up to date on research into joint replacement techniques as well as alternative treatment solutions.
She is as enthusiastic about teaching as she is about learning. Dr. Leasure provides surgical instruction to veterinarians as a continuing education and laboratory lecturer and brings that experience to each of her clients, both during and after consultation.
Appreciating that no two families are alike, she enjoys the challenge of tailoring treatment plans to address individual patient needs. She believes that the best outcomes are achieved through compassion and an understanding of the underlying condition. By actively engaging each family throughout the treatment process, she aims to create a positive experience for everyone.
Outside of the hospital, Dr. Leasure enjoys spending time on the Chesapeake Bay with her family, including her husband, Chris, who is also a veterinarian, and their two dogs, a Border Terrier named Hudson and a rescue named Georgia. She is a veteran traveler and avid foodie who enjoys boating and rooting for the Orioles in the summer and cheering on the Capitals in the winter.
Dr. Peter Lotsikas specializes in sports-related injuries and getting performance and working dogs back to full function. His clinical focus is on minimally invasive surgery and total joint replacement. He is certified to perform Biomedtrix hip replacements, TightRope CCL and TPLO procedures for cruciate repair, sliding humeral osteotomy and CUE joint resurfacing procedures for elbow dysplasia. When appropriate, he incorporates orthobiologics.
Whether an elite athlete or an aging companion, Dr. Lotsikas focuses on getting to know each patient to ensure the best possible outcome for their particular needs and goals. He takes immense pride in tailoring his surgical and medical recommendations to meet the needs of his diverse patient population.
Dr. Lotsikas is a veterinary surgical consultant for Arthrex Vet Systems and a national instructor in arthroscopy and minimally invasive knee stabilization. He is credited with developing the technique guide for the TightRope system for stabilization of traumatic hip luxation, now used worldwide. He serves on the medical education advisory board for Zoetis and is a Zoetis ELITE speaker on pain, anesthesia and sedation.
He has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed journals, co-authored a chapter in the textbook Mechanisms of Disease in Small Animal Surgery and served as section chief and author for the orthopedic disorders of the hind limb chapter in Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Lotsikas is a scientific reviewer for Veterinary Surgery Journal and Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association and previously reviewed for the Veterinary Orthopedic Society and American College of Veterinary Surgeons symposiums. He is active in continuing education and has presented at major veterinary surgery meetings across the United States. As a frequently requested author, he writes about sports-related injuries in canine athletes for publications including Clean Run Magazine, Pointing Dog Journal, Retriever Journal and Just Labs Magazine.
Dr. Lotsikas and his wife, Dr. Faith Lotsikas, share three young daughters and a small farm in Maryland. His personal interests include fishing, hunting, golfing and farming.
Take the first step to getting your pet back to their best self – call us to speak with the surgery team and make an appointment.
Prioritize your pet’s health with the experts in specialty medicine.