Successful surgical treatment of mitral valve stenosis in a dog

Vet Surg. 2004 Mar-Apr;33(2):138-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-950X.2004.04021.x.

Abstract

Objective: To report the successful surgical management (open mitral commissurotomy, OMC) of mitral stenosis (MS), incorporating heart-beating cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), in a 1-year-old dog.

Study design: Clinical case.

Animals: One-year-old Cairn Terrier with MS.

Materials and methods: Diagnosis of MS was confirmed by means of 2-dimensional, continuous-wave and color-flow Doppler echocardiography. Surgery was performed through a left intercostal thoracotomy. CPB was initiated and the heart was kept beating. The fused commissures of the mitral valve were incised to free the cusps of the valve.

Results: Left intercostal thoracotomy allowed easy observation of the mitral orifice during heart-beating OMC. Persistent bleeding from the atriotomy site required a second surgical procedure after which the dog had an uneventful recovery. Echocardiography at 2 weeks and 1 year postoperatively indicated substantial improvement in left ventricular filling (pressure half-time=187 ms before surgery, 105 ms [2 weeks] and 110 ms [1 year] after surgery). Enlargement of the left atrium resolved; however, moderate mitral valve regurgitation was still present.

Conclusions: MS can be successfully treated by OMC, facilitated by use of CPB. Substantial improvement in cardiac function was evident by ultrasound and Doppler examination postoperatively.

Clinical relevance: OMC under heart-beating CPB should be considered for the treatment of MS in the dog.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cardiac Surgical Procedures / veterinary
  • Cardiopulmonary Bypass / veterinary
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Dog Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Dog Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Dog Diseases / surgery*
  • Dogs
  • Echocardiography / veterinary
  • Electrocardiography
  • Male
  • Mitral Valve Stenosis / diagnosis
  • Mitral Valve Stenosis / surgery
  • Mitral Valve Stenosis / veterinary*