My name is Maurício Veloso Brun. I was born and grow up in Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), Brazil.
I am a veterinarian graduated at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, 1997). I have a master in Science’s degree in Veterinary Sciences (UFRGS, 1999) and a PhD in Veterinary Medicine from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM, 2003). I have a Specialist in Surgery from the Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgia e Anestesiologia Veterinária (CBCAV, 2008) and a postdoctoral degree from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) at the Centro de Cirugía de Minima Invasión Jessús Usón (CCMIJU, Spain – 2018).
I am Associate Professor II at the UFSM, Professor of the Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina veterinária (PPGMV/UFSM), collaborator at CCMIJU, CNPq Research Productivity Scholarship (PQ 2 – 305876/2018-0) and president of the Colégio Brasileiro de Endoscopia e Videocirurgia Veterinária (CBEVV). I was President of the CBCAV for two times (2013-2016).
Tell us about your current role (ie. Practice type, position, professional and research focuses?)
I am a Professor at UFSM in graduation, Post-graduation and continuing medical education courses. I teach surgery classes in small animals and develop researches mainly focused on minimally invasive surgery (MIS), in addition to working at the University Veterinary Hospital of UFSM.
I have directed research and clinical applications in the following areas: laparoscopic surgery, NOTES, LESS, thoracoscopic surgery, reconstructive surgery, endoscopy, microsurgery, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), experimental surgery and conventional surgery in different specialties.
How do you incorporate MIS into your surgery clinic?
Since early in my graduation I had a special interest in surgery, accompanying and working at the UFRGS Veterinary Hospital. In the last years of graduation, I had contact with video surgery assisting my professors (Antonio de Pádua Ferreira da Silva Filho, João Roberto Braga de Mello and Carlos Afonso de Castro Beck) in organizing and supporting MIS courses aimed at Physicians of different specialties.
In these first contacts with MIS, in addition to all theoretical support, I had the opportunity to observe doctors applying MIS techniques in simulators and experimental animal models, in addition to performing my first practices in simulators with inanimate models.
As soon as I completed my degree, I continued at UFRGS as a master’s student (CNPq scholarship) oriented by Prof. Dr. Antônio de Pádua, making it possible to conduct research and clinical treatments involving MIS in small animals. Dr. Mirandolino Batista Mariano, a distinguished Brazilian physician urologist with advanced practices in MIS, was who taught me the bases and applications of MIS.
Beginning in 1997, I never stopped working with video surgery and applying MIS in my clinical routine at the different Universities where I worked. From 2000 to 2003 I completed my PhD (CNPq scholarship) with an emphasis on MIS at UFSM oriented by the Prof. Dr. Ney Luis Pippi. In 2018 I completed my Post-doctorate (CNPq scholarship and UFSM supports) with MIS in Spain at the CCMIJU oriented by Dr. Francisco Miguel Sanchez Margallo.
From 1998 to 2011 I was Professor of Surgery at different Universities (UFGRS, Universidade de Passo Fundo, Universidade de Franca). I started as a Professor at the FUFSM) in 2011, where I work.
What excites you about MIS? (or tell us about a MIS success story)
I have been working with MIS clinical application and research for more than 24 years and I feel the same enthusiasm that I felt in my first laparoscopic surgery in 1997. I had the opportunity to start performing laparoscopic OVHs in small animals. Since then I have realized how much the technique has evolved and has gained more and more acceptance among Veterinarians.
When I started, I was already sure that MIS would become essential in the veterinary routine because its benefits observed in patients and demonstrated in a lot of scientific researches. There is no doubt about the advantages of MIS when properly indicated and its continuous development potential in Veterinary Medicine.
Something that excites me in MIS is experiencing the development of new techniques, new approaches and their use in increasingly advanced procedures in veterinary medicine. Being part of this story investigating MIS and applying it routinely to our patients’ benefits and something that fascinates and completes me.
Why do you love being a VES member?
Being a VES member is a great honor for me. It is a unique opportunity to grow in MIS learning and exchange experiences with formidable people and excellent professionals that make up this important society. Learning from the experiences of colleagues and understanding how professionals from different countries and realities apply MIS looking for the development of veterinary surgery is something fantastic.
Where would you like to see veterinary MIS go in the future?
I see MIS more and more present in the veterinary surgical routine, both in terms of expanding its daily use and in diversifying the surgical possibilities that will benefit a lot our patients. I see increasingly complex MIS being developed and applied to veterinary patients.
I believe that veterinarians will make a solid contribution to the development of human medicine as medical surgeons and veterinarians get closer.
I also believe that MIS will be less and less invasive and more effective as we evolve technically and technologically.
What do you like to do for fun outside of veterinary medicine?
I love being with my family, traveling and practicing activities in close contact with nature. I think it is essential to allocate time for spiritual and cultural development. As a sport, I have been dedicated myself to running.
