Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Flying with dogs that have heart valve disease for surgery in Japan
By Takahashi, Arane et al.·Published in Scientific reports·2023·JASMINE Veterinary Cardiovascular Medical Center, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A survey on dogs with valvular disease flying to Japan for operation.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of small-breed dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (a heart condition) traveled by air to Japan for surgery. The study found that 97.5% of these dogs survived the flight, and their surgical outcomes were similar whether they flew domestically or internationally. All dogs were kept in the cabin with their owners during the flight, and as long as they were stable on heart medication, flying did not significantly affect their health. This suggests that air travel can be safe for dogs with this heart condition when properly managed.
People also search for: dog heart disease surgery · flying with dog heart problems · myxomatous mitral valve disease treatment
Abstract
In small-breed dogs, myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is a common disease which may lead to chronic heart failure. Mitral valve repair is an optimal surgical treatment that is currently available in limited veterinary facilities globally because it requires a special surgery team and specific devices. Therefore, some dogs must travel overseas to undergo this surgery. However, a question arises regarding the safety of dogs when traveling by air with a heart disease. We aimed to evaluate the effect of flight journey on dogs with mitral valve disease, including survival rates, symptoms during the trip, laboratory test results, and operational outcomes. All dogs stayed near the owner in the cabin during the flight. The survival rate after the flight was 97.5% in 80 dogs. The surgical survival rates (96.0% and 94.3%) and hospitalization periods (7 days and 7 days) were similar between overseas and domestic dogs. This report shows that taking air flights in the cabin may not have a significant effect on dogs with MMVD, on the premise that their overall conditions are stable under cardiac medication.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36973265/