Christopher Byers , DVM, DACVECC
Critical Care and Internal Medicine

Dr. Christopher G. Byers is extremely honored to be an adjunct specialist for the Veterinary Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group.  Dr. Sherman Canapp and Dr. Byers previously worked together in a regional large specialty referral hospital, and developed a mutual respect for each other’s areas of expertise.  Dr. Byers happily provides support to the VOSM team regarding concurrent emergency/critical care and internal medicine issues.

Dr. Byers completed a residency in emergency and critical care medicine, and is board-certified in this specialty by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC).  Dr. Byers obviously also enjoys the practice of small animal internal medicine, and he will sit for board certification in this specialty in June 2008.  Dr. Byers is currently Director of Intensive Care at a large regional referral hospital in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as well as Medical Supervisor for the hospital’s largest nursing unit.  Dr. Byers is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Family Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.  He also serves as a consultant in emergency medicine for the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), the largest online community of veterinarians worldwide.

Dr. Byers grew up in the small seacoast town of Rochester, New Hampshire.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences from Colorado State University, and graduated as a University Honors Scholar.  During his undergraduate tenure, Dr. Byers was inducted into various academic honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa.  Dr. Byers received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.  He received many awards during his time at Cornell University, including the Cornell University Baccalaureate Service Award and the Auxiliary of the American Veterinary Medical Association Prize.  Dr. Byers also received the Iams and Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society Award for excellence in the practice of emergency and critical care medicine.  Dr. Byers completed a one-year internship at Long Island Veterinary Specialists and Animal Emergency & Critical Care Center in Plainview, New York, and he was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for dedication to teaching and continuing education upon the completion of his internship.

Dr. Byers has published several scientific papers in various peer-reviewed journals, and has co-authored the textbook, Handbook of Veterinary Emergency Protocols: Dog and Cat.  He also enjoys clinical research, and is in the process of designing a prospective study to document the beneficial effects of music therapy for patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit.  Dr. Byers is fascinated by all aspects of critical care and internal medicine, but he does have a particular passion for treating patients with traumatic brain injury and immune-mediated diseases.

Dr. Byers has two pets of his own: Avery, an 8-year-old Australian Shepherd, and Sunny, a 16.5-year-old Maine Coon.  In his spare time, Dr. Byers enjoys traveling, and is a music aficionado and an avid theatre/cultural enthusiast who enjoys partaking in the wide variety of fine-dining the Washington, DC metropolitan region has to offer.