Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with aortopulmonary fistula fixed using Amplatz occluder
By Zani, A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2016·Cardiovet Clinic, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of an Amplatz Canine Ductal Occluder (ACDO) device to close an acquired aortopulmonary fistula with a hybrid approach in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old spayed female Rottweiler was rushed to the vet with serious heart issues and abnormal blood flow in her lungs. After tests, the vet found she had a left-to-right aortopulmonary fistula, which can cause heart failure. She was treated with antibiotics and heart medications for a month before attempting to close the fistula with a special device. The first attempt failed due to the tricky angle of the heart's structure, but a combined surgical approach worked successfully, resolving her heart failure with only a small amount of leakage remaining.
People also search for: dog heart problems treatment · Rottweiler heart failure · aortopulmonary fistula in dogs
Abstract
A 2-year-old recently spayed female Rottweiler was referred as an emergency with cardiac tamponade and the presence of an anomalous retrograde flow in the pulmonary artery. Echocardiography and angiography demonstrated a left-to-right aortopulmonary fistula. Clinical history and data indicated a possible infectious aetiology. Antibiotics and heart failure medications were administered for 30 days before intervention. Initial attempt at insertion of an Amplatz occluder by means of a percutaneous catheterization technique was tried but a safe release of the device was judged to be not possible due to the angle and the fragile and irregular margins of the window. A decision was made to proceed with a hybrid technique combining thoracotomy and direct pulmonary artery catheterization. This hybrid approach was successful with resolution of congestive heart failure with only residual mild paraprosthetic leakage.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27449901/