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Canine receives pacemaker - a first for U.S. Customs |
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In late February, the Brownsville, Tex., Canine Enforcement section received a call from their local veterinarian. Dr. Sherri Wooding needed to see Customs canine "Dik" in her office for some additional lab work to follow-up his annual physical. The telephone call began a long and bumpy ride for Dik, a Belgian Malinois, and CEO Amador Zapata, his handler of five years.
Diagnosis
Dik underwent testing at the Brownsville Veterinarian Hospital and at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex. The specialists at the Military Working Dog Veterinary Clinic at Lackland confirmed that Dik had Cardiomyopathy, a chronic disorder of the heart muscle with a mild right-sided heart failure. Dik's heartbeat was one-third of what it should have been. Doctors advised CEO Zapata that Dik could no longer work and would need to be retired.
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| Photo Credit: SCO Eugene Moriarty |
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Dik with his handler CEO Amador Zapata.
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A possible solution
Dr. Wooding was not giving up on Dik-she researched his illness and made telephone calls to other veterinarians and specialists. She contacted Dr. Matt Miller, Associate Professor of Cardiology, at Texas A&M University, a world-renowned university for veterinarian medicine. Dr. Wooding, along with the Brownsville Animal Hospital and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center, explored alternative ways to give Dik the best care possible. The solution to Dik's illness? A pacemaker inserted into his neck to support his ailing heart and possibly give him a new lease on life.
On the afternoon of April 17, Dr. Wooding told Dik's handler that Texas A&M wanted to examine the dog to determine if he was a candidate for the procedure. Dik and Zapata left Brownsville at 3 a.m. the next morning for the 8-hour trip to Texas A&M.
Surgery
The news was good: Dr. Sonya Gordon, Assistant Professor of Cardiology, and graduate veterinary student Tricia Latimer decided that Dik was, indeed, a candidate for a pacemaker. Dik's strong physical condition ensured that the pacemaker would not only extend his life, but that it would also allow him to resume his duties as a narcotic detector dog. Dik was taken into the operating room that same day, and three hours later his pacemaker was in place and working. Clinic Director Hank Reinheart informed CEO Zapata and Brownsville Canine Enforcement that the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center would cover all of the expenses.
Speedy recovery
Dik returned to duty on May 28, and on May 30, he alerted to 84.37 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the tires of an automobile. Dik has an impressive record for the Port of Brownsville. His seizures total over $15 million worth of narcotics and property.
This story originally appeared on U.S. Customs Today
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MU Introduces First Puppy Pacemaker |
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Missy and her owner Bob Teak relax together. Cardiologists recently pronounced Missy fully cured and have placed no restrictions on her activity level. Photo by Randy Mertens
MU Introduces First
Puppy Pacemaker
By Ann Stratton
Doctors often use animals when testing a new medical device for use in humans, but at the University of Missouri-Columbia the latest technology in pacemakers is making its way from humans to animals. This is one more example of a growing trend to use human medicine technology to improve the lives of animals.
“Pacemakers in dogs correct the same abnormalities as they do in people,” said Alan Spier, MU assistant professor of veterinary cardiology. “We receive many phone calls from people with pacemakers, or their family members, expressing desire to donate the pacemakers after the individual’s death. Many people feel strongly that this is an important gesture.”
There are no pacemakers made specifically for veterinary use. Devices used by the Animal Teaching Hospital are either units with good battery life that have been removed from human patients or donated by a manufacturing company after the pacemakers’ shelf expiration date has passed.
Missy, an English springer spaniel, recently became the first Missouri dog to receive an explant dual chamber pacemaker. The pacemaker was previously in a human. Unlike the commonly used single chamber pacemakers, which only restores the heart rate, double chamber pacemakers also synchronize the atria and ventricles.
Dogs needing pacemakers are typically older, with the average age being about nine years. The device should extend Missy’s life for another three to five years. The best candidates for this $2,000 operation have hearts in reasonably good shape and have no other illnesses, such as cancer, that would otherwise shorten their life span.
“Missy was a textbook case for an operation that is becoming common in veterinary cardiology, said Deborah Fine, assistant professor of veterinary medicine. “The surgery is mildly invasive and when dogs walk out of the hospital they are essentially cured with only a small incision.”
There are only 110 board certified veterinary cardiologists worldwide; 80 of these cardiologists work in the United States. Two of them, Spier and Fine, are at the MU Animal Teaching Hospital
Missy’s post-surgical X-ray shows the implanted pacemaker. A dual-chamber pacemaker identical to the implanted one sits on top of the X-ray. Photo by Randy Mertens
This story appeared on Mizzou News
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Dog gets heart pacemaker implant at AU Veterinary Clinic |
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DOG GETS HEART PACEMAKER IMPLANT AT AU VETERINARY CLINIC
AUBURN -- Bailey, a six-year-old golden retriever, should live a normal life now that she's received a new pacemaker at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Bailey, owned by Robin and Rick Baker of Spanish Fort, received the pacemaker to help regulate a heart rate that sometimes would drop to as low as 20 or 30 beats
per minute, well below the 140 beat desired level.
"We're very thankful and thrilled to have this done because Bailey is such a wonderful dog," Robin Baker said. "We hadn't even know a pacemaker was an option for dogs, but hopefully it will help Bailey stay healthy for several more
years."
Bailey began having trouble earlier this year, collapsing after exercise and having occasional seizures. After initial checkups revealed no serious ailments and a planned diet reduced her weight but didn't stop the seizures, AU specialists recomme nded a 24-hour monitor. This procedure measured Bailey's heart rate over one entire day last spring. The dog's heart registered a healthy 140 beats per minute at times, but during the middle of the night it sometimes slowed to 30 beats per minute.
A second 24-hour heart monitor late this summer revealed Bailey's heart was slowing even more, sometimes to 20 beats per minute. By this time, Bailey's weight had dropped from 100 pounds to 75 pounds.
"If we hadn't had the pacemaker option, I'm not sure Bailey was going to live much longer," said Dr. Ray Dillon, professor of small animal surgery and medicine at the Small Animal Clinic and the surgeon who implanted the pacemaker.
The pacemaker is a state-of -the-art device made for humans by St. Paul, Minn. based Guidant Corp., which has donated several pacemakers to the AU College of Veterinary Medicine.
"Because of the generosity of this company, we are able to provide the normally $5,000 pacemaker free to our clients, and we charge only for the surgery and related services," Dillon said.
Pacemaker surgery in the Small Animal Clinic normally runs between $750 and $1,000 and typically takes a little more than an hour to perform. Auburn's College of Veterinary Medicine is the only site in Alabama which offers this option
for pets.
Because of advancements in the pacemaker's lead-wire technology -- some of which was tested at Auburn -- the pacemaker is imbedded in the muscles under the skin of the dog's neck, with the lead wire run down the jugular vein into the heart.
The lead-wire's end is a small corkscrew-type hook that imbeds in the dog's heart. The wire itself is flexible so that the dog's heartbeats and movements don't dislodge it. The cigarette lighter-size pacemaker detects when the heartrate slows and sends a five-volt electronic charge to stimulate the heart.
"It's solidly attached," said Dillon. "Bailey will have no restrictions on running, exercising and rolling around in the house or in the yard."
The pacemaker's battery lasts for up to five years and can be easily checked to determine when it needs replacing.
Dillon said veterinary surgeons have been using pacemakers for dogs for about 10 years, with Auburn having this option available for the past three years. He said AU typically implants on a handful of pacemakers per year.
This story originally appeared in the Auburn University News
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Angel Doctor Fixes His Heart in More Ways than One |
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Many doctors at the MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center bond with their patients, however after Sunny, a 13-year-old, deaf Chow/Husky mix in foster care, underwent a lifesaving pacemaker implantation, Dr. Gregg Rapoport went one step further and adopted her. Now living a healthy life with the Angell cardiologist, Sunny has left behind years of alleged abuse and a heart rate less than half that of a normal dog.
Sunny was rescued in January by Norwich Animal Control when she was found next to a vacant house during an ice-storm, having spent her life up to that point tied to a tree outside. The severity of her malnutrition was discovered when over 30lbs. of hair mats and feces were trimmed from her, leaving an underweight 32lb. frame.
The Sunny Fund, a fund created to raise the money for her pacemaker procedure, made it possible for Sunny to come to the Angell Animal Medical Center for her care. Following a series of tests including an echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and chest x-rays, Sunny was cleared for surgery with Dr. Rapoport. The successful procedure meant that Sunny could lead a healthy life and now that she has been adopted by Dr. Rapoport she will be ensured the top-level care that she deserves.
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