ºÚÁÏÉç

Department: Clinical Science and Services

Research Groups: CPCS (Research Programme)

Clinical Groups: Equine Medicine

Dr Michael Hewetson is an associate professor of equine internal medicine and is the BVetMed 3 year leader. He is a registered RCVS and SAVC specialist in equine internal medicine and is a diplomate of the European College of equine internal medicine.

Dr Michael Hewetson graduated from Onderstepoort, South Africa in 1999. He spent time in private equine practice in the UK before completing a three year Senior Clinical Training Scholarship in equine internal medicine, critical care and anaesthesia at the University of Glasgow. He was awarded the RCVS certificate in equine internal medicine in 2003 and the EBVS diploma in equine internal medicine in 2005. In 2006 he moved to the Middle East to work as a specialist in a sports medicine clinic that provided veterinary care for the Thoroughbred racehorse and endurance industry in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. In 2009 he returned to academia and accepted a position as a lecturer in equine internal medicine at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He spent 5 formative years in Finland before returning to South Africa in 2013 as a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria. In 2017 he returned to the UK and joined the team at the Royal Veterinary college.

Dr Hewetson has a PhD in equine gastroduodenal permeability studies and has published extensively in the field of equine gastroenterology. His current research interests include:

 

1. Myocardial function in horses with AHS and how this information may provide a framework for therapeutic intervention in clinical cases using cardiac specific drugs

 

2. The association between the presence, type and severity of equine gastric ulcers (EGUS) and the owners perception of common clinical signs

 

3. Is the oral sugar test useful as a predictor of corticosteroid-associated laminitis in horses?

Dr Hewetson has published extensively in high reputation journals and is currently first author or co-author on 36 refereed journal articles, of which 11 have been published since joining the ºÚÁÏÉç in 2017. In addition to this, he has consistently disseminated his research at national and international conferences through publication of abstracts in conference proceedings.

 

Refereed Journals

  • Hewetson, M. and McGuire, C.J. Equine squamous gastric disease and delayed gastric emptying – the chicken or the egg? Equine Veterinary Education, 2022, 34 (9), 460-466.
  • Díaz, M.D.M., Hewetson, M. and Kaartinen, J. Tracheal trauma and pneumonia secondary to endotracheal intubation in a horse undergoing general anaesthesia, computerised tomography and myelography. Equine Veterinary Education, 2021,34 (3), e106-e109.
  • Hewetson M, Tallon R. Equine Squamous Gastric Disease: Prevalence, Impact and Management. Vet Med (Auckl). 2021;12, e381-e399.
  • Hewetson, M. (2021), Managing glandular gastric disease in horses. In Practice, 43, 217-228.
  • Gratwick, Z., Frean, J., du Plessis, D., Hewetson, M. and Schwan, V. A case of verminous mastitis in a mare. Equine Veterinary Education, 2021,33 (8), e248-e252. 
  • Tallon, R., Hewetson, M. Inter-observer variability of two grading systems for equine glandular gastric disease. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2021, 3(3), 495-502. 
  • Marion Leiberich, Ralph Krebber, Michael Hewetson, Johan Marais, Vinny Naidoo. Pharmacokinetics of an intravenous and oral dose of enrofloxacin in white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Volume42, Issue3, May 2019, Pages 346-354
  • Merlin, T., Hewetson, M. and Veres-Nyeki, K. (2019) Putative postanaesthetic pulmonary oedema in a horse. Veterinary Record Case Reports 7.
  • Argano, M., Hewetson, M., Kiviranta, A., Larenza Menzies, MP.  (2018) Seizure-like activity after gadolinium administration in an anaesthetised foal undergoing magnetic resonance imaging.  Veterinary Record Case Reports  6
  • Leiberich, M., M., Krebber, R., Hewetson, M., Marais, J., Naidoo, V. A Study of the Pharmacokinetics and Thromboxane Inhibitory Activity of a Single Intramuscular Dose of Carprofen as a Means to Establish its Potential Use as an Analgesic Drug in White Rhinoceros. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2018 41:4 9-613
  • Hewetson, M., Venner, M., Volquardsen, J., Sykes, B.W., Hallowell, G.D., Vervuert, I., Fosgate, G.T. and Tulamo, RM. Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in weanling foals. Acta Vet Scand. (2018) 60:24 
  • Arnold T. Mahne, Driene Janse Van Rensburg, Michael Hewetson. Ileal hypertrophy and associated true diverticulum as a cause of colic in a horse. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 2017 May 26; 88(0)
  • Hewetson M, Sykes BW, Hallowell GD, Tulamo RM. Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses. Acta Vet Scand. 2017 Mar 11;59(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s13028-017-0284-1.
  • van Galen, G., Rijckaert, J., Claude, S., Amory, H., Armengou, L., Bezdekova, B., Durie, I., Findsh, R., Fouche, N., Haley, L. and Hewetson, M. A retrospective study of 155 adult equids and 21 foals with tetanus from Western, Northern and Central Europe (2000-2014). Part 1: Description of history and clinical evolution. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care 2017, 27(6): 684-696.
  • van Galen, G., Rijckaert, J., Mair, T., Amory, H., Armengou, L., Bezdekova, B., Durie, I., Delany, R.F., Fouche, N., Haley, L. and Hewetson, M. A retrospective study of 155 adult equids and 21 foals with tetanus from Western, Northern and Central Europe (2000-2014). Part 2: Prognostic assessment. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care 2017, 27(6):697-706
  • Monki, J., M. Hewetson, A.-M.K. Virtala. 2016. Risk factors for equine gastric glandular disease: A case-control study in a Finnish referral hospital population. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 30:1270-1275.
  • Koskinen M & Hewetson M. ELD as a cause of acute respiratory distress in a neonatal foal. Equine Veterinary Education, 2015, doi: 10.1111/eve.12416
  • Sykes BW, Hewetson M, Hepburn RJ, Luthersson N & Tamzali Y. European College of Equine Internal Medicine – Consensus Statement . Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) in Adult Horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal medicine, 2015, 29: 1288–1299. doi: 10.1111/jvim.13578
  • Monki J.A.K, Hewetson M, Hahn S, Vanio K & Skrzypczak T. Desseminated alimentary mycobacteriosis in the horse: a retrospective study of nine cases. Equine Veterinary Education, (2016) 28 (11) 614-622. 
  • Hewetson M. Our current understanding of Strangles. Part 1: etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs and diagnosis. Eläinlääkäri : Suomen eläinlääkärilehti, 2014, 120, 7, 452-457
  • Hewetson M. Our current understanding of Strangles. Part 2: control of an outbreak, treatment and prevention. Eläinlääkäri : Suomen eläinlääkärilehti, 2014, 120, 8, 503-512
  • Kati Niinistö, Michael Hewetson, Ritva Kaikkonen, BenW. Sykes, Marja Raekallio. "Comparison of the effects of enteral psyllium, magnesium sulphate and their combination for removal of sand from the large colon of horses." The Veterinary Journal 202.3 (2014): 608-611.
  • Monki J.A.K, Hewetson M (2014) Clinical Perspective: Intestinal Mycobacteriosis- A Rare Cause of Chronic Wasting Disease in Horses. J Mycobac Dis 4: 147. doi:10.4172/2161-1068.1000147
  • Koikkalainen K, Knuuttila A, Karikoski N, Syrjä P & Hewetson M. Congenital hypothyroidism and dysmaturity (CHD) syndrome in foals – first reported cases in Europe. Equine Veterinary Education, 2014, 26, 4, 181–189
  • Bonilla A.G., Hurcombe S.D., Sweeney R.W., Hewetson M & Mudge M.C. Small intestinal segmental volvulus in horses after gastroscopy: 4 cases (2011-2012). Equine Veterinary Education, 2014, 26, 3, 141–145
  • Hewetson M, Aaltonen K, Tulamo R.M., Sankari S. Development and validation of a gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) method for the determination of sucrose in equine serum. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 26.2 (2014): 232-239.
  • Väänänen L, Sihvo H-K. & Hewetson M. Cerebral haemorrhage in a pregnant Standardbred mare with Evan's syndrome. Equine Veterinary Education, 2013, 25, 7, 353-358.
  • Hewetson M. Traitement et prévention de la gourme : de nouvelles perspectives. Pratique Vétérinaire Equine, 2013, 45, 178, 19-27.
  • Sjöholm A, Syrjä P. E. S. & Hewetson M. Pemphigus foliaceus hevosella: kolme tapausselostusta [Pemphigus foliaceus in the horse: three case reports]. Eläinlääkäri : Suomen eläinlääkärilehti, 2012, 118, 9, 552-558.
  • Tapio H, Hewetson M & Sihvo H. -K. An unusual cause of colic in a neonatal foal. Equine Veterinary Education, 2012, 24, 7, 334-339.
  • Vainio K, Knuuttila A, Niinistö K. & Hewetson M. Multisentrisen lymfooman aiheuttama hemothorax lämminveriravurilla – tapausselostus [Haemothorax caused by multicentric lymphoma in a standardbred trotter – a case report]. Eläinlääkäri : Suomen eläinlääkärilehti, 2010, 116, 9, 551-557.
  • Hewetson M. Investigation of false colic in the horse. In Practice, 2006, 28, 326-338.
  • Rendle DI, Hewetson M, Barron R & Baily JE. Tachypnoea and pleural effusion in a mare with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The Veterinary Record, 2006, 159, 356-9.
  • Hewetson M, Cohen ND, Love S, Buddington RK, Holmes W, Innocent GT, Roussel AJ. Sucrose concentration in blood: a new method for assessment of gastric permeability in horses with gastric ulceration. Journal of Veterinary Internal medicine, 2006, 20, 388-394
  • Hewetson M, Christly RC, Hunt ID, Voute LC. Investigations of the reliability of observational gait analysis for the assessment of lameness in horses. The Veterinary Record, 2006, 158, 852-858.
  • Kidd J, Voute LC, Hewetson M. Flexor tendon rupture secondary to a non-responsive digital sheath sepsis in a horse. The Veterinary Record, 2004, 155, 201-204.

 

Conference papers

 

  • Hewetson, M., Hoksbergen, F.S., Berger, S., Westermann, C.M., Gilders, C., Hagget, E., Luthersson, N., LeRoux, A.A, Courouce, A., Wilson, A., Brown, N., Cesarini, C. Association between owner-perceived clinical signs and the presence of EGGD on gastroscopy. Accepted for the proceedings of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. September 2021.

  • Hewetson, M. Current consensus on glandular gastric disease – clinical signs and significance. Proceedings of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. September 2018.
  • Hewetson, M., Shaik, T. Myocardial dysfunction in horses with AHS – should we be reconsidering our treatment strategy? Proceedings of the South African Equine Veterinary Association Congress. February 2018.
  • M. J. Koskinen, M. Hewetson, M. R. Pöytäkangas. Iohexol as a marker of intestinal permeability in the horse. Proceedings of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. September 2015.
  • M. Hewetson, B. Sykes & R.M. Tulamo. Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for diagnosis of gastric ulceration in adult horses. Proceedings of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. September 2015.
  • Sykes BW, Hewetson M, Hepburn RJ, Luthersson N & Tamzali. Highlights from the ECEIM Consensus Statement on Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in Adult Horses. Proceedings of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress. September 2015.

Dr Hewetson is a curriculum manager at the ºÚÁÏÉç and is responsible for leading year 3 of the BVetMed course. In this role, he organizes the year and ensures that it is taught in accordance with the approved learning outcomes by liaising with the strand leaders and lecturers. He is also responsible for ensuring that all teaching activities are appropriately timetabled and that students are provided with appropriate course information. In addition, he ensures that appropriate formative and summative assessment is taking place; and that the summative assessments are organized appropriately in liaison with the Examinations Office.

In addition to his role as a curriculum manager, Dr Hewetson also teaches on the alimentary and dermatology BVetMed strands and co-ordinates the post graduate MMedVet module in equine internal medicine. A large proportion of Dr Hewetson’s time is also spent on experiental training and mentorship of final year students during their clinical rotations in the Equine Referral Hospital. Furthertmore, in his role as an associate professor of equine internal medicine, he is also responsible for training and mentoring postgraduate students. These include interns completing a one year internship and working towards a PG Dip in veterinary clinical practice; and residents, whom are working towards an MVetMed and a European or American specialist qualification.

Dr Hewetson is one of the equine internal medicine specialists in the Equine Referral Hospital. He is involved in all aspects of internal medicine, but has a particular interest in gastroenterology and oncology.

Dr Hewetson is an acknowledged expert in the field of equine internal medicine, with specific subject expertise in equine gastroenterology. This has enabled him to foster a national and international profile for the ºÚÁÏÉç, including (1) publication of consensus statements; (2) invitations to review papers for manuscripts for internationally recognized peer reviewed journals; invitations to review grant proposals; and (3) invitations to speak and chair research at national and international congresses.

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