Noel Fitzpatrick is on our TV screens every week, saving dogs, cats and other animals at his UK clinic.

Known as 'Supervet', he is a world-class orthopaedic-neuro veterinary surgeon and managing director of one of the largest veterinary referral centres in the UK, Fitzpatrick Referrals.

But now he is set to open the Fitzpatrick Institute for the Restoration of Skeletal Tissue (FIRST).

The centre will be dedicated to rebuilding parts of the skeletal system using stem cell technology married with man-made scaffolds.

 The centre will be the very first of its kind for animals in Britain where biology and mechanics come together.

It will provide treatment for osteoarthritis with evidence-based stem cell and blood derived treatments.

Noel Fitzpatrick with The Fitzpatrick Institute for the Restoration of Skeletal Tissue (FIRST) stone plaque | Image: fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk

In a statement, the practice says: "This will create a new standard for the application of regenerative medicine therapeutics where strict protocols are adhered to with regard to quality control, and outcome measures are validated and standardised."

The new centre will expand the existing service offered by the organisation, which provides custom implants from 3D printing and manufacturing.

Fitzpatrick Referrals in Surrey employs over 250 veterinary professionals.

Originally from Laois, Fitzpatrick recieved his Bachelor of veterinary medicine from University College Dublin in 1990 - before taking scholarships at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Ghent.