Double Trouble
The initial diagnosis for Dan, a five-month-old kitten, was bad enough. He had a complex congenital heart disease that was causing a heart murmur. Dan had a large PDA (patent ductus arteriosus). The blood vessel flowing from his aorta into the main pulmonary artery was not closing when it should and if left untreated, it could cause severe fluid overload to the left side of his heart. “That’s not the most common thing we see but it’s not that rare,” said Dr. Michael Pabon, cardiology resident in the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital, “but it was a cause for concern when combined with his other issue.” That issue was a bilateral branch pulmonary artery stenosis where the two main branches of the vessel going to his lungs were narrowed. Put both issues together and Dan was a very sick kitty and required surgery, which he came through like a champ. Dan has since been released from the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital soon and is recovering at home.
