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University of Pretoria veterinarians Dr. Adriaan Kitshoff and Dr. Ross Elliot saved the lives of two dogs using an innovative technique.
- Veterinary specialists at the Onderstepoort Academic Veterinary Hospital performed innovative cardiac surgery on two dogs.
- The surgeries paved the way for the establishment of a center of excellence in minimally invasive surgery and cardiology at the hospital.
- Although the dogs are fine, they need heart scans every three months.
Veterinarians at the University of Pretoria performed life-saving surgeries on two dogs, using a pioneering technique that is limited to well-equipped hospitals abroad.
Specialist surgeons Dr. Adriaan Kitshoff and Dr. Ross Elliott saved the lives of Daisy, a 7-month-old French bulldog and Tallen, a 6-month-old cocker spaniel, at Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, the university said in a statement. .
“This procedure is limited to hospitals abroad with surgeons or internists with a special interest in cardiology. Only hospitals have the equipment that can perform the surgery. This is the first time in the 100-year history of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of Onderstepoort. And an exciting way to start the next century of veterinary service in the country. “
For the two canines, the innovative process involved the use of a balloon to dilate the opening of a heart valve.
The doctors said:
Both dogs have pulmonary valve stenosis, an abnormally shaped or fused heart valve that sits between the heart and the artery that leads to the lungs. Both patients had valves where a component had fused. These valves are supposed to allow blood to flow in one direction, which means that they have times when they are closed and times when they are open, and these times are determined by whether or not the heart contracts.
The goal of the delicate surgeries was to increase the size of the opening by dilating the valve.
To do this, a long balloon-tipped catheter was placed in one of the veins in the neck.
“Using fluoroscopy (real-time X-rays), the balloon was guided through two of the chambers of the heart and through the small opening in the valve. After inflating the balloon, the opening was stretched (balloon valvuloplasty).” they added.
Possibility of ‘center of excellence’
According to veterinarians, the anatomy of a dog’s heart is similar to that of a human. It also consists of four chambers and four valves.
They said:
This is probably why the majority of heart transplant clinical trials were conducted in dogs. This set the stage for Dr. Chris Barnard’s first successful heart transplant in 1967. The surgery is risky as these patients have heart disease and need to undergo general anesthesia.
“Due to the irritation of the heart muscle when the balloon passes through it, it can result in abnormal heart rhythms during anesthesia that might need treatment with medications during the operation.”
After surgery, the dogs are fine, although they need follow-up cardiac scans every three months.
This is because in 15% of similar cases, the stretched valve opening can start to narrow again.
Daisy is a service dog who can feel when her owner, who has fibromyalgia, feels pain and sleeps on her as a form of comfort. Fibromyalgia is a condition of muscle pain accompanied by various flare-ups like bad mood, fatigue, and joint pain.
Daisy the French bulldog during her stay in the ICU of the Onderstepoort Academic Veterinary Hospital.
The university said the successful surgeries allowed the hospital to help pets in similar delicate situations.
“This means that we can offer a service that Onderstepoort Veterinary Hospital did not previously offer. This also gives us the opportunity to extend the lives of special pets like these.”
“This groundbreaking surgery also creates the possibility of establishing a center of excellence in minimally invasive surgery and cardiology in the hospital, and offering more advanced surgeries, such as valve replacements and heart transplants.”
