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Witney dog enjoying life after pioneering heart surgery
Nine-year-old Stanley’s heart problem was first discovered by vets in Swindon when he was being scanned for a separate hip issue.
Vets at Eastcott Veterinary Referrals detected Stanley had a mass on his heart and this was restricting the flow of blood to his organs.
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Following a discussion with his owners, a specialist-led cardiology team carried out a rare, minimally invasive procedure to access Stanley’s heart via a large vein in his neck.
A stent was implemented to relieve the pressure being caused by a heart base tumour.
Stanley has since made a strong recovery from the keyhole surgery and is enjoying being back at home with his family.
Owner Kay Webb, from Witney in Oxfordshire, said: “We were obviously worried but hoped it would give him a better quality of life.
“Stanley is now back home following the operation and he’s very happy to continue his favourite pastime of sleeping, together with playing games and doing training exercises, and enjoying local walks.”
Stanley was able to go home the following day even with Kieran Borgeat, clinical director at Eastcott saying it is “great” to see him recover so well.
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The American, European and RCVS specialist in veterinary cardiology, said: “Eastcott’s cardiology team planned this keyhole surgery to relieve the compression of Stanley’s blood vessels, in order to improve Stanley’s cardiac output and prevent him from developing signs of liver congestion and heart failure.
“For this to be done, Stanley’s heart was accessed using specialized catheters and wires through the jugular vein in his neck, while the procedure was guided by fluoroscopy.
“We deployed a stent which would lift the tumour up and open the blood vessel, from within the vessel itself.
“We are pleased that the trans-atrial stent was successfully deployed and normal blood flow was restored.
“Stanley was able to go home the following day even though it was complex operation.
“This highlights one of the huge benefits of minimally invasive surgery – a low level of risk and predictable, rapid recovery for most patients.”
“It’s great to see Stanley recover so well, returning to normal exercise and activity levels.”
Eastcott Veterinary Referrals is owned by Linnaeus, who runs 47 primary care and 17 referral veterinary practices in the UK.
Part of the Mars family of businesses, the group comprises almost 5,000 employees including specialists in veterinary clinicians.
A Linnaeus spokesperson said: “The future of veterinary medicine is at the heart of everything they do and this is demonstrated through investment in their teams, facilities, equipment and continual professional development of its clinical and non-clinical staff.”
