Samsung is a very sweet kitten who was taken to the RSPCA Mid Norfolk and North Suffolk Branch, along with his litter mates, when he was just one week old. At a routine health check he was found to have a high grade heart murmur and he was brought into DWR where an ultrasound examination showed this to be caused by a condition known as Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). This is a heart defect whereby the connection between the right and left sides of the heart, which is necessary when the kitten is developing in the uterus, fails to close at birth. As a result, blood overloads the left side of the heart and this can lead to potentially life-threatening heart failure.
In larger patients, this can often be corrected via a minimally invasive approach. However, at just 17 weeks of age, Samsung was too small for this technique and therefore needed to have open chest surgery which was performed by Rachel Hattersley.
We are delighted to report that the operation went well and he is recovering quickly. He is being looked after by his foster carer and is seen here wearing a rather fetching medical shirt to stop him licking his wounds.
A lovely success story for DWR and the RSPCA.