An update on Molly the Beagle's heart surgery
On January 23, Molly the beagle and I (and my husband) flew to London so Molly could have heart surgery at Royal Veterinary College.
Molly really enjoyed the flight and her first five days in the UK (We were able to take her on a tour of Wimbledon and to many dog friendly pubs). On January 28, she successfully had surgery and was up and alert just a few hours later.
She was released from the hospital last week Wednesday, and we came back to the U.S. on Saturday. She's now home, happy, and in the beginning of a 3 month period of rest and recovery. She's very active, but her exercises needs to be restricted to short walks 4 times daily for the next few months while her heart valves heal.
All evidence indicates the surgery was a success -- her heart has shrunk back to normal size (it was double the size a dog's heat should be) and there appears to be no more heart murmur and no more regurgitation.
We still need to be watchful for blood clots and the possibility of an infection, but she's on appropriate medications for the next several months (and will have a checkup at the University of Gainsville Small Animal Hospital in a month) and there is, at this time, no reason to believe those complications will develop.
All in all, we're very happy and it seems the trip was a great success! Thank you to those who expressed their best wishes and kind thoughts for Molly and who inquired about how she was doing!
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Comments (19)Hi Weed. We dropped her off today and they did an ultrasound while we were there. It showed that it IS a type of PDA that can be fixed so that was great news. They said her heart was VERY enlarged but that the hole was relatively small. At her age, there's virtually no chance that it could heal on its own. They are staffed 24 hours a day so someone will be with her tonight and they will do the surgery in the morning. She will have a tiny incision by her back leg where they go in, and they will run a cork shaped plug up through a vein all the way to her heart to plug the hole. She did really well on the trip up there. Only barked a few times and slept part of the way. I only covered one end of her carrier so she couldn't see out the side windows but she could still see us and out the front that way. She didn't seem really scared until we set her on the metal exam tableat the clinic. She knew that wasn't good but she wasn't shaking as badly as she was last time I took her to the vet. They called me this evening to tell me she was doing ok and seemed content. They'll call again after her surgery. The house seems quiet without her. I'll be glad when she's home....See MoreAn Update on Theo
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5 years agoThanks
She's actually trying to play fight her brother, not the other way around, LOL! He had a rough time while we were gone. Even though my dad and in-laws all took care of him (I specifically flew my in-laws in so he'd have a bigger pack), he was stressed w/o me, Molly and my husband and he ate all the fur off one spot and gave himself a big sore :( So now he's on antibiotics and has had to visit the vet about 14 times :(
maire_cate we actually did specifically buy Wimbledon tennis balls for Molly. Chasing her ball is her favorite thing and she couldn't do it b/c of her heart condition so the Wimbledon ball will be her celebratory first ball she throws once she's off exercise restriction.
She's limited to 10 minute walks for 2 weeks, then 15 minute walks for 6 weeks. We'll be advised at our first appointment whether she can slightly increase. After 3 months, she should be able to work back up to normal exercise levels and just be a regular dog again! They repair the heart valves w/ gortex, so they restrict activity for 3 months to allow the body's tissues to grow over the repaired cords and strengthen and reinforce the repair.beaglesdoitbetter
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Bonnie
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just_terrilynn
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoGlad all went well Beagles!
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You should write a little book on Molly’s adventure.
beaglesdoitbetter thanked just_terrilynn
Butternut
5 years agoHappy to hear that Molly's surgery went well! And a fun trip to London as well!
My beloved cavalier Pepper passed away in 2008 at the age of 9 from MVD. She was sick for over a year and on medications and injections. She did suffer. If I had the option, I would have done anything to save her that suffering. I still miss her terribly.
I swore I would never ever get another cavalier since I couldn't bear to go through that again. The info on all of the promising new therapies for MVD gives me hope.
beaglesdoitbetter thanked Butternutbeaglesdoitbetter
5 years ago
llitm