Our Veterinary Surgeon

Jill K Luther, DVM, MS, DACVS

Veterinarian

Jill K. Luther is a graduate of Southwest Missouri State University who received her DVM from the University of Missouri. She completed a rotating small animal internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York and returned to MU for a one-year basic science research fellowship focusing on canine meniscal disease. She completed her surgical residency and MS in Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the University of Missouri in 2010. From there, she performed orthopedic, soft-tissue, and neurosurgery in private practice in St. Louis for four years before returning to MU to specialize in soft tissue surgery from 2014 to 2021. In 2021 Dr. Luther formed Heartland Veterinary Surgery, LLC, to provide relief surgery services to specialty veterinary hospitals across the country, to provide teaching and monitorship to new graduates, and to offer mobile soft tissue consulting for general practices. Dr. Luther has also been a part-time member of the MVES/OPVES team in the greater Kansas City area since October 2021.

Dr. Luther’s primary clinical interests include minimally invasive surgery and surgery of the urinary tract. Her greatest strength in teaching lies in the applied, practical application of surgery. Her experience in private practice and academia lends well to marrying gold standard practices with real-world application.

Dr. Luther’s non-clinical interests have evolved into helping others recognize and combat compassion fatigue and stay committed to veterinary medicine. She is an ambassador for female specialists refusing to accept the status quo.

Dr. Luther has an amazing family that includes her husband, Wally, a teacher and builder, and kids Walter, 11, Millie, 10, and Oliver, 6. Together, they enjoy fixer-upper homes, traveling, and a controlled, chaotic life of four cats and a Mini Aussie who herds everyone.

She has been a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons since 2010.