Pup’s double heart bypass first for dogs
VETS have saved a puppy’s life with double bypass surgery – the first time it has been performed on a dog.
Black labrador Lottie was born with a rare heart defect and was at risk of massive heart failure.
Surgeons from the Royal Veterinary College in London did open-heart surgery, repairing a valve and re-dividing the atrium.
The team of 10 carried out the pioneering, fourhour procedure after advice from paediatricians.
One-year-old Lottie is expected to make a full recovery from the surgery in July, following a threemonth rehab programme.
Owner Pauline Daley, 58, who spent £12,000 on it, said: “It was either no surgery and she’d die or we took a chance. We just said, ‘We can’t let her go’.”