Neurology Facts and Fiction
The inner workings of our pets’ bodies, like its nervous system, can appear perplexing and frightening when it doesn’t work properly. I like to demystify the body by thinking of it as a collection of commonplace items. The nervous system is like the body’s internal computer…a combination of chemical and communication systems. Information about what is happening inside and outside of the body is detected, the information is transmitted to the main processor-the brain- via phone and electric lines, our nerves. Our ability to survive and thrive depends on these messages being sent in a well-ordered and consistent pattern. These processes can be disrupted by breaks in the lines – injuries, hacked by diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, abnormal chemical reactions or tumors. It is possible that the wiring may never have been properly configured in the first place…congenital or inherited defects.
My guest is an expert in unraveling diseases affecting a pet’s neurological system…repairing the damage when possible or controlling the signs when it is not. Dr. Ali Gorgi is a board-certified veterinary neurologist and neurosurgeon who owns Bright Care Veterinary Hospital in Orange County California.
BIO:
Dr. Ali Gorgi has been practicing veterinary neurology and neurosurgery in Southern California for over 10 years. During this time, the pet neurologist has been responsible for building and expansion of some of the most successful neurology departments in different specialty hospitals in West Los Angeles and Orange County. Dr. Gorgi is progressive, integrative, compassionate, and remains at the forefront of all available modalities to treat different neurologic and neurosurgical diseases. Dr. Gorgi is an adjunct clinical professor at Western University of Medical Sciences in Pomona, Ca.
Dr. Gorgi decided to use all his expertise, experience, and compassion as an expert vet neurologist to establish the most sophisticated and advanced veterinary neurology and neurosurgery center in Southern California.
Dr. Gorgi has lectured extensively locally, nationally, and internationally in different animal neurology and neurosurgery topics. As an expert pet neurologist, he has been invited to the International Symposium in Veterinary Surgery for lecturing and conducting workshops with other renowned vet neurologists in the field of veterinary neurosurgery. He has been invited to different universities and veterinary organizations worldwide to further train veterinarians in neurology and neurosurgery.
Dr. Gorgi has been actively involved with multiple research projects. He has published in veterinary journals and is the author of the Status Epilepticus (seizures) chapter in Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine which is considered the most comprehensive and prestigious reference for Small Animal Veterinarians.
Not only is Dr. Gorgi a skilled vet neurologist, but he is also a highly accomplished neurosurgeon. As part of his research project during his residency, he has developed a novel technique in dogs for surgical treatment of congenital vertebral anomalies. He is one of the few veterinarians in California to be certified to perform cervical disc arthroplasty (artificial disc) in dogs. Dr. Gorgi has continued to advance the art and science of neurosurgery and has made modifications to the PMMA plug technique for cervical disease. In addition to the more common neurosurgical procedures (such as decompressive surgery for intervertebral disc disease), Dr. Gorgi has routinely performed more advanced procedures for hydrocephalus, caudal occipital malformation syndrome (Chiari malformation), atlantoaxial luxation, Wobblers syndrome, spinal and brain tumors, and spinal and skull fracture repairs.
When not in the hospital, Dr. Gorgi can generally be found spending time with his wife and two sons, and their Golden Retriever.