Dena Lynn Lodato, DVM, has dedicated herself to helping animals through veterinary medicine. In 2021, she established Resurge Veterinary Surgical Specialists and Rehabilitation LLC, where she offers services including physical rehabilitation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and acupuncture, neurological imaging, and surgical interventions. Dr. Lodato is proud that hers is the only referral hospital that offers acupuncture for animals. For her overall and ongoing professional excellence, she has been recognized as a Marquis Who’s Who Top Doctor and featured in Vogue Magazine as well as The Wall Street Journal.
As the owner, medical director, and small animal surgeon of her company, Dr. Lodato is responsible for seeing newly referred patients, conducting consultations, performing surgeries, checking up on patients to oversee rehabilitation and recovery, and administering hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment involves giving the patient pure oxygen while in a high-pressure chamber to facilitate greater oxygen absorption by the lungs. It treats problems such as carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene, slowly healing wounds, and infections that starve tissues of oxygen, among other ailments. Dr. Lodato became a certified hyperbaric technologist-veterinary (known as CHT-V) in 2023 to expand the services she can offer her patients.
Committed to professional excellence and continuing education in veterinary medicine, Dr. Lodato became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2015 and a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner in 2016. She began her higher education at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2003. In 2008, she completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, after which she accepted an internship at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2013, Dr. Lodato concluded her residency at Mississippi State University and graduated with a Master of Science.
As a member of the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine, the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Lodato specializes in wound management, neurosurgery, small animal surgery, and orthopedics. Before launching Resurge Veterinary Surgical Specialists and Rehabilitation LLC, she worked for South Paws Veterinary Specialists as a small animal surgeon and medical director from 2015 to 2020. She began her career in veterinary medicine at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in 2013, after which she served as a small animal surgeon in the Animal Emergency and Referral Center affiliated with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine from 2013 to 2015.
Prolific in her published work on veterinary medicine, Dr. Lodato has authored multiple articles and studies in her field. She authored “Rectal Masses” in the third and fourth editions of Etienne Cote’s “Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Dogs and Cats” in 2015 and 2018, respectively, and published techniques for performing corrective surgery on dogs with brachycephalic airway syndrome in 2014. In 2012, Dr. Lodato wrote “Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome: Management” and “Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Diagnosis.” Among her extensive work, she also wrote about the use of random subdermal flaps to repair skin defects in “Today’s Vet Practice.”
Dr. Lodato attributes her success to her compassion and prides herself on treating her patients like her own pets. Committed to honesty and transparency in her work, she puts her heart into everything she does and surrounds herself with people who share her values and goals. In addition to being prominently recognized in the aforementioned publications for being a standout in her professional, Dr. Lodato has been the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of her work and academic excellence, including receiving the Humane Heart Award from the Human Society of Louisiana in 2021. In 2010, she was presented with a Nestle-Purina Resident Research Grant, and in 2008, she was honored with the American College of Veterinary Radiologists’ Senior Student Award.
As a member of the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society since 2007, Dr. Lodato earned multiple scholarships and honors during her higher education. She was named to the Dean’s List at Rutgers and later graduated with honors. At Mississippi State University, she was named a Giles Scholar in 2008. Dr. Lodato’s journey started with high academic achievements and still results in a steady stream of professional accomplishments today.
