Dr Sarah Girling in surgery
Clinicians

Dr Sarah Girling

Senior Surgeon, Orthopaedics / BSc BVSc CertSAS DipECVS MRCVS

About

EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Sarah graduated from Massey University, New Zealand in 1995 and spent five years in mixed practice before joining the University of Liverpool where she held the position of surgical resident gaining the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2003, and European College of Veterinary Surgeons diploma in 2007, becoming an EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery.

Sarah is one of Fitzpatrick Referrals’ most talented surgeons with all the necessary skills to manage your patient with joint disease (stifle/elbow/shoulder, arthroscopy, joint replacement, elbow unicompartment resurfacing), fracture repair and surgical spinal problems at any level. She has a particular interest in total hip replacement (THR) and contributes data to the BVOA-UoL THR Registry; this database follows patients post-THR throughout their lifetime. We hope information acquired from data acquisition can assist clients in their decision-making.

EBVS® European Specialist Sarah Girling collecting BSAVA Award
EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery Sarah Girling collecting the Simon Award at BSAVA Congress 2022.

Sarah recently held the position of chairperson of the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association, a UK network of veterinary orthopaedic surgeons’ keen to share knowledge and educate the next generation of veterinary surgeons. In conjunction with CPD Solutions, Sarah developed the PGCert(SAS), a training program for budding surgeons. Sarah is a current member of AOVET faculty; a global network of surgeons, scientists and other professionals in the human and veterinary field dedicated to the advancement of orthopaedics with education as their legacy.

Dr Sarah Girling speaking at The VET Festival in 2015

Sarah is an occasional consultant to Arthrex and makes a daily commitment to the onsite training of our surgeons in training (ECVS). But first and foremost, Sarah is present for our patients at Fitzpatrick Referrals. Sarah and her team firmly believe in putting our patients first and endeavour to their families to make informed decisions regarding treatment, thereby optimising outcome. Fixing broken animals is a passion and a daily reward, the best positive feedback loop ever!

Dr Sarah Girling speaking at The VET Festival in 2016

News

Wolfhound dog sitting in a vet hospital CT scanner room with radiographers, vets and a nurse. 11 min read

Celebrating World Radiography Day 2025 through the stories of our staff dogs

Published 08.11.25 Blog
Veterinary Surgeon Hrithik Varma at Fitzpatrick Referrals 3 min read

Meet our interns – Hrithik

Published 12.08.25 Blog
Professor Noel Fitzpatrick - Supervet ER series graphic 2 min read

Supervet ER series launches

Published 24.07.25 News
Veterinary surgeons in surgery 1 min read

Dr James Guthrie awarded a fellowship by the RCVS

Published 22.07.25 News
Fitzpatrick Referrals team members holding Best Referrals 2025 award outside the practice 1 min read

Fitzpatrick Referrals receives BestUKVets – Best Referrals 2025 award

Published 17.07.25 News
Healthy, active black Labrador running across a grassy field 15 min read

Stem cell therapy for dogs with osteoarthritis: a helpful guide for clients

Published 24.06.25 Blog
Family holding their French Bulldog with his veterinary team 5 min read

Fitzpatrick Referrals awards and accreditations

Published 23.06.25 News
Veterinary surgeon holding a 4-month-old cockapoo puppy wearing a cone in a grass field 4 min read

My year as an advanced orthopaedic intern – Anouck

Published 13.06.25 Blog
dog and client waiting at vets 2 min read

The choice is yours

Published 06.05.25 News
Veterinary nurse holding clipboard and monitoring a dog 3 min read

Q & A with Clinical Nurse Lead Fran

Published 10.10.24 Q & A
Fitzpatrick Referrals veterinary professionals kneeling with dog 3 min read

Fitzpatrick Referrals launches unique loyalty scheme for referring veterinary practices

Published 08.05.24 News
Veterinary specialists in surgery 1 min read

Fitzpatrick Referrals orthopaedic surgeons taking part in ESVOT Congress 2024

Published 25.09.24 News
EBVS® European Specialist Sarah Girling collecting BSAVA Award 2 min read

Sarah Girling awarded prestigious BSAVA award for outstanding contributions to veterinary surgery

Published 21.02.22 News
Friends newsletter summer 2019 1 min read

Welcome to the summer 2019 Friends newsletter

Published 30.07.19 News
Sarah Girling in surgery at Fitzpatrick Referrals Orthopaedics & Neurology 4 min read

A referring vets guide to hip dysplasia

Published 26.07.19 Blog
FRIENDS Autumn 2017 welcome 3 min read

Welcome to the autumn 2017 Friends newsletter

Published 01.11.17 News
Poodle Bobby hip replacement patient at Fitzpatrick Referrals 2 min read

Client Column: Our Bobby by Marc Etheridge

Published 31.10.17 Blog