Veterinary Heroes: Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA

2024 Veterinary Hero in surgery Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA, is a member of the medical team at MedVet in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated top of his class from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he earned his doctorate degree. According to his award nominator, Maritato was the first to perform minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures in Cincinnati and has repaired thousands of ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments in dogs. According to Maritato, he averages between 10 and 15 surgeries daily.

In an interview with dvm360, Maritato shared why he likes surgery. “The honest answer is none of the rest of veterinary medicine appeals to me. I like to do surgery. I can’t say that I knew that from the beginning. I just knew I wanted to be a vet… as I was exposed to the veterinary world, I was just drawn to surgery and what that entails.… I like just the concept of things being broken and me fixing them, and I like working with my hands. I’m a very hands-on learner and hands-on doer. It's probably why I like to garden a lot, because I like to just create, and that's why I like orthopedics. It's why I like helping develop implants and new ways to fix things or improve upon the ways that we already have,” he explained.

Without his support team, which includes veterinary professionals, interns, and residents, Maritato would not have the daily success that he has as a veterinary surgeon, he told dvm360. “I have a great support team,” Maritato emphasized, saying that it would be “literally impossible” to perform the number of surgeries he does in a day without his “amazing team of surgery assistance, surgery techs, anesthesia techs, anesthesia department, anesthesiologist, [and the] entire team of surgery assistants that runs all the discharges.”

“You know, it takes a huge team—residents, interns. I train residents and interns, and they also, in turn, for their learning, they also help me get a lot of things done, which allows me to offer my skills and knowledge to as many patients as I can do in a day,” he continued.

Surgeon, writer, and mentor

Maritato’s contributions to the professions extend past his clinical work, having authored several veterinary texts. He was instrumental in coauthoring the textbook “Locking Plates in Veterinary Orthopedics,” addressing a gap in veterinary literature and providing a resource for residents-in-training and experienced surgeons learning about locking plates.

His work in veterinary literature is also, in part, the result of his mentorship, guiding residents and interns through the writing process and teaching them how to effectively critique articles. “Your job, when you read medicine and medical articles… [is] to critique it and understand what was done so that you can apply that to your to your field every day and see what makes sense and what doesn't,” Maritato said. “That’s how you advance the profession. It's not just believing everything you're told. It's truly understanding what you're reading. So, I think by having [residents and interns] write these papers and publish, they understand what goes into… writing, in the research and how to better interpret the things [they’re] being given in other articles.”

On winning this award, Maritato shared, “It just means that my hard work and my dedication to my patients and to the profession is being noticed and recognized. I do spend a lot of time treating a lot of patients and a lot of clients and a lot of referral partners, basically just to try to better the Cincinnati community and everybody that's here, as well as the veterinary community. And I think [winning the award] means that that's noticed, and maybe that's having a positive impact.”

In addition to winning the 2024 Veterinary Heroes award in surgery, Maritato has received various other awards during his career, including the Pfizer Parasitology Award and the Novartis Pharmacology Award.

In honor of Maritato and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 2024 Fetch dvm360 conference in Long Beach, California, where the winners will be recognized for their unwavering commitment and extraordinary efforts within the veterinary profession. The ceremony will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM PST. All Fetch Long Beach registrants are invited to attend the award ceremony for no additional fee.

The 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center

The paraprofessional category for the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by MedVet