Fern visited her regular vet for a general health check-up where they discovered that she had an unusual heart murmur that needed some further investigating. She then visited a cardiologist who made the diagnosis of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (or PDA); a heart defect where a shunt between the aorta and pulmonary artery hadn’t closed at birth, leading to abnormal blood flowing from the aorta into the pulmonary artery. This in turn leads to overloading of the left side of the heart, causing it to enlarge, and furthermore leads to congestive heart failure.

Fern was then referred to Dr Brenton and our referral surgical team here at JCU Vet where we performed heart surgery, dissecting around the vessel and ligating, or tying, it with silk suture.

Her recovery was very quick, returning to her happy, loveable self and going home with her parents 24 hours after the surgery was completed. Fern has a fantastic prognosis and should now lead a normal life!

Fern was a wonderful dog to have in clinic and an incredibly interesting case for our surgery team, and therefore, is Surgery’s Pet of the Week!