Double Diplomate Success For Southfields Specialists

Southfields Veterinary Specialists, which will be moving to a new £16 million state-of-the-art site in Basildon this summer, has seen Konstantinos Rigas and Aldara Eiras Diaz both pass their specialist exams. 

Konstantinos has become a European Specialist in Small Animal Oncology to further boost Linnaeus-owned Southfields’ industry-leading oncology and radiotherapy service, which is headed up by distinguished specialists Sarah Mason and James Elliott. 

Konstantinos said: “I’m incredibly pleased to have achieved my diploma. It’s a long journey to become a specialist and I’m delighted to have obtained this. 

“I am part of one of the most experienced oncology teams in the UK here at Southfields and look forward to continuing to provide the very highest possible care for our patients.” 

Aldara’s success has seen her become a European Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine, taking the number of specialists in the Southfields internal medicine team up to five. 

Aldara said: “I am so happy that all of the hard work and dedication to studying has now paid off and I have obtained my diploma. 

“I look forward to continuing to provide the very best level of care possible to patients and clients here at Southfields.” 

Konstantinos qualified from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. After practising in Greece as a first opinion vet for five years, he moved to the UK to specialise in veterinary oncology. 

After two years in general practice, he completed a rotating and oncology internship at the Animal Health Trust, followed by a residency in small animal oncology at the University of Liverpool. He joined Southfields in July 2021. 

His main interests are in haemopoietic malignancies and their management. He is also interested in the multimodal approach to malignancies in order to provide quality time for patients with their owners. 

Aldara graduated from the University of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, in 2010. After completing a 12-month internship at the university, Aldara moved to the UK and spent two years working in a busy small animal practice. 

She subsequently moved to Newmarket to complete a 12-month rotating internship at the Animal Health Trust, followed by an internal medicine residency at fellow Linnaeus hospital Dick White Referrals, before joining Southfields. 

Aldara enjoys all fields of internal medicine, particularly feline medicine, gastroenterology, and endocrinology.

Henry L’Eplattenier, clinical director at Southfields, said: “We’re all incredibly proud of both Konstantinos and Aldara. It’s wonderful to see their hard work and dedication culminate in achieving their specialist status. 

“Having such an expert, specialist-led team, allied to our state-of-the-art facilities, means we are able to deal with the most serious and challenging cases referred to us.” 

Southfields Veterinary Specialists is dedicated to providing the highest standards of veterinary care for pets and providing a seamless service to owners and referring vets.  

 The referral centre offers specialist services such as anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, exotics, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, radiation and soft tissue surgery. 

 For more information, go to www.southfields.co.uk or search Southfields Veterinary Specialists on social media.