Dr. Dirsko J.F. von Pfeil earned his veterinary degree from the University of Berlin in 2001. After completion of a small animal internship at Kansas State University, he was accepted for a residency and fellowship in small animal surgery at Michigan State University. While at MSU, he finished his dissertation in biomechanics of orthopedic implants, and obtained the American DVM. He returned to KSU as assistant professor in small animal surgery, teaching orthopedic, soft tissue, oncologic, and neurological surgery. Since he joined Veterinary Specialists of Alaska, P.C. in 2008, Dr. von Pfeil led multiple challenging surgical procedures, among others a thoracoscopic lung lobectomy and a cardiac pacemaker implantation (view TV report). He has been the driving force to bring minimally invasive surgery to our practice (arthroscopy, laparoscopy, thoracoscopy). Further clinical interests of Dr. von Pfeil include sports medicine and joint replacements. Dr. von Pfeil is a board certified surgeon and Diplomate of both, the American and the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and serves as adjunct professor in small animal surgery for MSU. He is a member of multiple American and European Veterinary Medical Associations, among others the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association. His interest in sled dogs brought him first to Alaska in 2007 when he volunteered for several weeks at the Iditarod. Since then he has been involved as trail or head veterinarian in multiple sled dog races and has contributed to continuing education for trail veterinarians and mushers in various ways. He is currently investigating congenital laryngeal paralysis (“Wheezer-Disease”),of the Alaskan Husky  and initiated other clinical studies at VSOAK.