Wakefield vet performs pioneering surgery on French bulldog pup

The complex surgery took place at Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals and utilised the skills of the hospital’s cardiology team, anaesthesia team and nursing team in a true multidisciplinary approach.

Ten-month old French Bulldog, Maisie, was suffering with pulmonic stenosis, which is a severe narrowing of blood flow exiting the heart, putting immense strain on her heart and placing her in real danger.

At a routine vaccination, her local vets had picked up a heart murmur and recommended she be referred to Paragon for a heart scan.

To save Maisie, Paragon undertook its first cardiovascular stent, which was implanted via a minimally invasive keyhole technique into the pulmonary artery.

The operation immediately improved the blood flow out of the heart and reduced the severity of Maisie’s condition.

Chris Linney, head of cardiology at Paragon, said: “Maisie is Paragon’s first patient to undergo a stenting procedure.

“Her condition was incredibly serious and required a multidisciplinary approach to give her back a good quality of life. I’m happy to say Maisie is now back home, she is doing well and recovered.”

Maisie’s grateful owner Anthony Cairns, said: “We were shocked when we heard the diagnosis, as we had only had Maisie for just over a month.“Heart

surgery is obviously a big concern and we understood it would be a major operation but the team at Paragon talked through all the risks involved so we were able to make an informed decision.

“Now she’s had the operation she is on the road to recovery. Her last scan showed her operation had taken around 50 per cent strain off her heart and she now has more energy and is more playful.”

Chris added: “Maisie’s condition called upon the expertise of the hospital’s specialised nurses in anaesthesia and cardiology, four veterinary surgeons comprising three cardiologists and one anaesthetist, along with the full multidisciplinary team.”