Page 5 - PawsandHooves-Autumn2019

Once the Gore-Tex was in place, Percy was weaned off the bypass machine. At all times, Percy was monitored by anaesthetists and a perfusionist (who operates the bypass machine) who could act fast if there was a problem while under anaesthetic.
Percy recovered quickly from the surgery. He spent a couple of days in the Intensive Care Unit immediately following surgery and then moved on to the surgery ward for a week. During his recovery, RVC vets and nurses monitored Percy closely, checking to see that the fluid build-up was resolving and that he was breathing normally. He had several heart scans to check for blood clots and blood tests to ensure his vital organs were functioning well.
The team checked him thoroughly for any signs of infection and to ensure his wound was healing. As Percy was so thin the team also wanted to ensure he had a good appetite before going home.
The owners were also vital to Percy’s recovery. They committed to restricting his exercise, monitoring his health, keeping Percy on a lead for walks for the first few weeks, and not letting him chase balls or jump on furniture during that time. They had to feed him frequent small good quality meals to get his weight up and take him for regular appointments at his local vet and cardiologist
in France for months afterwards to check his progress.
We are delighted to report that Percy progressed well without any complications. He was able
to come off all of his pre-surgery medication immediately following surgery and then was completely medication free after three months. He now has a normal quality of life and life expectancy and enjoys playing with his brother at home.
“Percy is enjoying his new life; he runs faster than his brother! Thanks once more to the cardiac surgery team”
Your support for cardiac surgery
The demand on RVC’s cardiac surgery team
to perform open-heart surgery such as this
for a variety of terminal conditions, including degenerative mitral valve disease (the most common heart disease in dogs) is growing rapidly.
When the team first started performing these treatments, they performed one per month. They now do an average of two per week and are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand. The waiting list is long and unfortunately some dogs on the waiting list do not make it to their surgery.
As you can see from Percy’s story, these cases require intensive care from a range of teams throughout the hospital, and specific equipment to facilitate both the surgery and recovery.
Thanks to donations to the team, they now have additional surgical equipment to help them keep up with the increased demand and to treat smaller size dogs. The team is so grateful for financial support, which enables them to advance their service and help more critically ill animals.
STORIES FROM
OUR HOSPITALS
Paws & Hooves Autumn 2019
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