Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Outcome of mitral valve surgery in 9 dogs with heart failure
By de Andrade, James N B M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2011·Hospital Veterinario, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Partial external mitral annuloplasty in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration and congestive heart failure: outcome in 9 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of nine dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) caused by a heart valve problem called myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD) underwent a surgical procedure to try to improve their condition. Unfortunately, the surgery had a high risk, with two dogs dying during the operation and others passing away shortly after due to heart issues or being euthanized because their condition worsened. Only one dog survived for a long time after the surgery, while the others did not show significant improvement in their heart function. This suggests that this surgical option may not be effective for dogs with advanced CHF due to MMVD.
People also search for: dog congestive heart failure treatment · myxomatous mitral valve degeneration in dogs · dog heart surgery outcomes
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report the outcome of partial external mitral annuloplasty in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) due to mitral regurgitation caused by myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD). ANIMALS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine client-owned dogs with CHF due to mitral regurgitation caused by MMVD. Surgery consisted of a double row of pledget-butressed continuous suture lines placed into the left ventricle parallel and just ventral to the atrioventricular groove between the subsinuosal branch of the left circumflex coronary artery and the paraconal branch of the left coronary artery. RESULTS: Two dogs died during surgery because of severe hemorrhage. Two dogs died 12 and 36 h after surgery because of acute myocardial infarction. Three dogs were euthanized 2 and 4 weeks after surgery because of progression of CHF, 1 was euthanized 30 days after surgery for non-cardiac disease, and 1 survived for 48 months. In the 5 dogs that survived to discharge there was no significant change in the left atrium to aortic ratio with surgery (3.6 ± 0.56 before surgery; 3.1 ± 0.4 after surgery; p = 0.182), and no significant change in mitral regurgitant fraction in 4 dogs in which this measurement was made (78.7 ± 2.0% before surgery; 68.7 ± 7.5% after surgery; p = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Partial external mitral annuloplasty in dogs with CHF due to MMVD was associated with high perioperative mortality and most dogs that survived to discharge failed to show clinically relevant palliation from this procedure. Consequently, partial external mitral annuloplasty is not a viable option for dogs with mitral regurgitation due to MMVD that has progressed to the stage of CHF.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21824833/