Matt Read

Dr. Matt Read joined the Western Veterinary Specialist and Emergency Centre as an anesthesiologist in March, 2005. Dr. Read will play two important roles for animals receiving treatment at the Western Veterinary Cancer Centre. First, he will assess each patient that receives radiotherapy and develop an individualized anesthetic plan for their particular course of treatment. Since the delivery of radiotherapy requires multiple anesthetics over a short period of time, special considerations are required to decrease risk in older animals that have cancer, or who may have other diseases concurrent with their primary cancer. In addition, Dr. Read will use his expertise in analgesia and pain management to design both short and long-term protocols that will decrease discomfort and improve quality of life for all of our patients, no matter what type of cancer treatment they are receiving.

Dr. Read is originally from Calgary, and attended veterinary college at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, SK. Following completion of his DVM (1998), he stayed on at the WCVM as a resident in veterinary anesthesiology (2001). During this time, he trained in all aspects of providing sedation, anesthesia, and pain management to animals, and he also completed a Master's degree in wildlife anesthesia. Dr. Read successfully completed his specialty certification in anesthesia (2002), becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists. Following his residency, Dr. Read joined the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia where he taught, completed research, and supervised the small and large animal anesthesia services at the College of Veterinary Medicine from 2001 to 2003. In 2003, Dr. Read left the University of Georgia to join the Veterinary Emergency Clinic, a referral hospital in Toronto, as Staff Anesthesiologist. In this capacity, he developed and supervised the anesthesia service, provided in-house training to veterinarians and technicians, and lectured at regional and provincial veterinary meetings.

Dr. Read's professional interests include all aspects of perioperative medicine and pain management, especially regional anesthesia and pain management, anesthesia for cardiovascular and neurologic diseases, and total intravenous anesthetic techniques. In addition to his primary clinical duties working with small animal patients at the WVSC, he continues to enjoy teaching anesthesia, conducting clinical research, and consulting on large animal and wildlife anesthesia. By specializing and limiting his practice to anesthesia, Dr. Read assures the delivery of experienced and expert attention to each patient, ensuring that the anesthetic and pain management techniques employed at the Western Veterinary Cancer Centre are best suited to the individual's needs.

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