Siamese kitten’s surgery for rare heart defect

A gravely ill Siamese kitten that was suffering from heart failure aged 12 weeks has made a full recovery at a specialist vet practice.

Three-month-old Arthur was in very poor health when he was referred to Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield, where he was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Paragon’s head of surgery Mickey Tivers and head of cardiology Chris Linney combined to perform complex surgery to correct the rare defect, which affects only one in 5,000 cats.

Referral

Paragon veterinary nurse and feline advocate at the gold standard-accredited cat-friendly clinic, Maddie Enderby, said: “Arthur was referred to the hospital after a grade five heart murmur was found when he went for his first vaccination at a primary care clinic.

“He was referred to Paragon where we carried out an echocardiogram, which revealed a left-to-right shunting PDA. This occurs when the arterial shunt between the pulmonary artery and the aorta fails to close after birth, which prevents blood from circulating properly around the body.”

Enlarged left ventricle

Mr Linney said: “Alarmingly, in Arthur’s case, the left ventricle was already the same size as an adult cat and the left atrium was twice the size, meaning that, at only 12 weeks old, he was already in early congestive heart failure.

“His prognosis without surgery was grave so we elected to operate as soon as possible before irreversible heart damage occurred, or worse.”

Thoracotomy

Vets performed a thoracotomy, allowing the faulty vessel to be closed permanently.

Mr Linney said: “Arthur recovered amazingly well from his surgery and he was discharged from the hospital 36 hours later. He had a further ultrasound scan one month after the surgery, which showed the PDA remained closed and the heart failure was resolving.

“His owners report he is very happy at home, with even more energy than before and he’s regularly trying to climb the curtains.