Kipper, a playful, cheeky whippet puppy was referred to our Cardiology Specialists for an investigation in our Puppy Heart Murmur clinic.
His owners thought they had a happy, heathy puppy until they had a call from the breeder who suggested they get his heart checked out. This was because one of his litter mates had just been diagnosed with pulmonary stenosis which is a congenital heart defect that causes narrowing of the heart’s pulmonic valve.
During this Puppy Heart Murmur Clinic consultation and investigation, Kipper was diagnosed with severe pulmonic stenosis. Kipper came back into see our team and our head of Cardiology Anne Kurosawa and Laurent Locquet, one of our Cardiologists took him into surgery to undertake a minimally invasive procedure called a balloon valvuloplasty. This is where a balloon catheter is placed into the main pulmonary artery, across the pulmonic valve. With the inflation of the balloon, the valve opens relieving the obstruction.
His owners said “It was heart breaking coming to terms with hearing that his diagnosis was severe, we were so relieved when we were referred to DWR Veterinary Specialists and our boy was placed in the hands of the amazing and caring team of experts. Laurent performed miracles on that day of the surgery on the 20th of July 2022 and was our point of contact throughout. He walked us through the entire process and patiently answering our questions. We could not have asked for a better standard of care for Kipper. He was treated with so much love and care especially as it was his first time away from us.”
“Life afterwards has been incredible. It is impossible to tell he has had a heart op. He loves nothing more than a ball and a flat out run, we have also taken part in our first canicross race together which he loved. He hasn’t lost his cheeky side either but that’s our Kipper for you. That mischievous face gets him a forgiveness pass on a regular basis! Thank you so so much for giving Kipper the chance of a healthy life.”
Without that call and the investigations our team undertook in the Puppy Heart Murmur clinic, his owners wouldn’t have known about his condition so young and been able to treat it so quickly.