Open Heart Surgery on a Cat

Another life for cat that had open heart surgery

By Julie Wheldon and Nigel Blundell

Source: Daily Mail

THEY say cats have nine lives but now doctors may have found a way to give them ten.

They have performed open heart surgery successfully on a cat for the first time.

The operation has given two-year-old Harry, who was once at death's door because of his weak heart, a new lease of life. And his owners, Sally and Terry Dolan, are delighted that their beloved pet is now fitter than ever.

The five-hour operation carried out at the Royal Veterinary College cost Pounds 10,000, on top of a similar amount already spent on treatment that failed to cure Harry's condition.

Pet insurance met Mr and Mrs Dolan's bill. But they said that if necessary they would have taken out a loan to keep Harry alive.

The pioneering surgery was successful because Harry is a large cat an American breed known as a Maine Coon which can grow to the size of a small poodle.

Although not fully grown, his heart is still larger than a normal cat's which helped make the operation a success.

Mrs Dolan, a 53-year-old charity worker from Eltham, south-east London, said yesterday: 'Harry always had a weak heart and was recently diagnosed as having a heart blockage that meant he had only days to live. Finally he collapsed and I steeled myself to have the vet visit us at home and let him pass away in my arms.

'But the night before, we discovered that a surgeon at the Royal Veterinary College was willing to perform a pioneering operation on him.' Dan Brockman, 43, of the college near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, had twice attempted open heart operations on cats unsuccessfully.

In Harry's case, he cut open the cat's abdomen to deal with an obstruction of muscle tissue around the right ventricle of the heart.

For this crucial stage of removing the obstruction Mr Brockman had a maximum of five minutes to operate while Harry's heart was stopped. He took just three.

He said: 'I believe this is the first successful open heart operation on a cat. It was worth it to see the look on Sally's face when I told her it had been successful.' Mrs Dolan said: 'When Harry played as a kitten he would get breathless, but now he is fine and runs up and down the stairs.' She and her husband, an electrician, who have two grownup sons, have another five-year-old Maine Coon and a golden retriever.