DVM

Tom Mariën was born on October 1st, 1970 in Belgium. When he was 18 years old he started vet school at Ghent University where he graduated when he was 24 with the highest distiction. He was offered a position as an assistant at the surgery department of the University.

But when he was 25 he decided to specialise further in Equine Surgery and left for the United States. He trained under the biggest names in the industry (Dean Richardson, Larry Bramlage, Barry Grant, Alan Ruggles, Eric Parente,...) and spent time in Kentucky, San Diego, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In 2000 Tom returned to Belgium to start his own clinic "Equitom". The clinic developed exponentially due to his expertise, perfectionism and perseverance.

Despite his busy schedule he continues to develop new surgical techniques and strives to make the impossible, possible.

Tom was the first to laparoscopically remove a kidney in a horse; he invented the laparoscopic closure of the nephrosplenic space to prevent recurrent colic which is now performed world-wide.

He also pioneered in a standing laparoscopic technique to close the inernal inguinal rings. This procedure prevents inguinal herniation in stallions.

Some of the surgical techniques were published in renowned scientific journals. This has made him a wanted speaker at international conferences, all the way to America.

Many private and University clinics have requested Tom to come and demonstrate his techniques.

Due to his international fame, horses from all over the world travel to Lummen for specialised surgical procedures.