Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgery to fix heart hole in cats using adjustable artery banding
By Sutherland, B J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2019·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dilatable pulmonary artery banding for ventricular septal defect: surgical technique and case report of three cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three cats with a heart condition called ventricular septal defect (a hole in the heart) underwent a special surgery known as pulmonary artery banding to help manage their symptoms. This technique involved placing a band around the pulmonary artery that could be adjusted later if it became too tight, which is important since these cats were still growing. After the surgery, all three cats showed improvement and had less strain on their hearts for up to three years. This approach offers a promising option for managing this serious heart issue in young cats.
People also search for: cat heart surgery · ventricular septal defect treatment · pulmonary artery banding in cats
Abstract
Pulmonary artery banding (PAB) is a viable but underreported palliative option for hemodynamically significant ventricular septal defect in small animals. A significant challenge associated with PAB is judging the degree of band tightening, which can be further complicated when animals are immature and still growing at the time of PAB. If a pulmonary artery band is overtightened or becomes progressively too tight after surgery, the result can be reversal of shunt flow with potentially devastating consequences. Placement of a band that could be percutaneously dilated using a balloon catheter affords a minimally invasive option for partially or completely relieving the band should it become too tight after PAB. This report describes a surgical technique for placement of a dilatable pulmonary artery band, reviews guidelines for tightening the band, and reports the outcome of three cats undergoing the procedure. All three cats showed evidence of reduced hemodynamic load after PAB for a period of up to three years after PAB.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31542555/