Rare Canine Open-Heart Surgery Succeeds

By Krishna Ramanujan

Last April, Dylan Raskin’s Japanese Chin, Esme, was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation, a fatal condition that causes backflow of blood in the heart’s chambers. Though veterinarians initially treated the condition with pills, the dog’s heart failure became worse, leading specialists to predict just a few more months of life for Esme.

Esme’s future now looks bright, as the Chin received a rare and successful seven-hour open-heart surgery at Cornell’s Hospital for Animals Nov. 19 and was released with a healthy prognosis Nov. 26. The surgery was conducted by a team of five Japanese veterinarians who specialize in such heart surgeries, and led to some hefty medical bills, including $22,000 to fly the surgical team to Ithaca and $10,000 in hospital fees.

Raskin did research to find and contact the Japanese surgeons, and with the help of two Cornell alumnae, the College of Veterinary Medicine agreed to sponsor the procedure.

Posted by chesliepickett on Jan 22 2015. Filed under Featured, Health & Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.