Athens, Georgia, United States
Tom McNicholas, DVM, Diplomate ACVS, has 20+ years experience as a board-certified Veterinary Surgeon. Based out of Athens GA, Dr. McNicholas graduated from The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine with honors in 1994 and completed a surgical residency at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2002. Dr. McNicholas enjoys all aspects of veterinary surgery including soft tissue, orthopedic, and neurosurgical procedures. Dr. McNicholas began his veterinary career 30 years ago as a general practitioner in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1998 he was awarded an internship in Dallas, Texas, followed by a three-year surgical residency at Purdue University. He has owned two veterinary surgical centers and two veterinary ERs. After selling these centers, he is now working as a locum or advisor for other veterinary surgical centers. Most recently, Dr. McNicholas obtained EMT certification through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians(NREMT).
Serving northeast Florida and south Georgia communities, First Coast Veterinary Specialists is a referral specialty center with board certified specialists in surgery and anesthesiology working in partnership with primary care veterinarians and other board certified specialists to provide advanced care from the most experienced veterinarians in the region. Dr. McNicholas is an academically trained veterinary surgeon (Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine) with more than 18 years in an exclusive surgical setting. Board certified in veterinary surgery since 2003, Dr. McNicholas has performed countless soft tissue and oncologic procedures and in excess of 3000 TPLOs, 3000 cruciate extracapsular stabilizations, 2000 Medial Patella Luxation (MPL) stabilizations and 750 neurosurgical procedures. He also has a special interest in utilizing non-surgical and physical therapy protocols as a complement or alternative to surgery. Dr. McNicholas is the former owner of Affiliated Veterinary Specialists and Animal ER in Jacksonville, where he practiced for more than 10 years. (Dr. McNicholas sold AVS in 2011 to two local surgeons and continued to practice there through 2014. In 2017, those surgeons sold AVS to a Mars Corporation company.) Upon departure from AVS, Dr. McNicholas established a successful consulting veterinary surgery practice, pursued advanced studies in canine physical therapy and rehabilitation, and was privileged to be a staff surgeon at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center (DVSC), one of the oldest and largest veterinary surgical centers in the country. Dr. McNicholas returned to the First Coast in February of 2017 to establish the best specialty practice in the region, offering trusted experience and compassionate care for patients and pet owners while respecting the relationship the family veterinarian has with their clients and patients. Jacksonville Magazine readers voted First Coast Veterinary Specialists a "Best in Jax" pet hospital in 2018.