Prof. Dr. Franck Forterre

Division of Small Animal Surgery, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern

Division of Small Animal Surgery
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The scientific interests of our group are canine intervertebral disc disease and atlantoaxial instability.

Within the last 10 years, a main focus was directed towards the pathophysiology of intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) in dogs, with a clinical stream (dealing with IVDH-induced intramedullary blood flow and pressure changes in canine patients), a laboratory stream (focusing on IVD-induced inflammatory changes within the epidural space), a biomechanical stream (focusing on the cervical spine) and also a diagnostic imaging stream (investigation of prognostic relevant findings on MRI in correlation with pathological findings).

A translational aspect is clearly present in our research, since the dog is a recognized naturally occurring clinical model for human disc degeneration and spinal cord trauma. In this way our technical activities really range from bench to “bedside”.