Vin Vin is a miniature schnauzer. He was missing for a few months. When he was found by his owner, he was given heartworm preventive medication. Later, he showed difficulty breathing and coughing. His primary veterinarian referred him to me for further investigation.
Chest X-rays, echocardiography, blood tests, and a heartworm test were performed. The cause of his difficulty breathing was identified as heartworm disease.
Echocardiography revealed that some heartworms had migrated downstream to the right atrium, a phenomenon known as “caval syndrome.” The heartworm disease had caused inflammation in the lungs (pulmonary arthritis) and increased lung blood pressure (pulmonary hypertension).
After being stabilized with medications, surgery was performed.
An incision was made in his neck to allow the insertion of a catheter to remove the heartworms from the right atrium. After the surgery, Vin Vin also received treatments to kill any remaining heartworms that were not surgically removed.
He is apparently doing well at present. He no longer needs to take medication to reduce his lung pressure.
Link to video on Instagram
Why surgery in this case?
In general, surgery is not recommended as part of the standard heartworm treatment protocol. However, when heartworms are present in the right atrium causing blood flow obstruction, surgery is indicated to remove the obstructing heartworms.
This surgery had never been performed in other parts of Malaysia. The first case was done by us in year 2021.
Vin Vin received heartworm preventive medication. Why was he infected?
While missing for several months, Vin Vin could have been infected with heartworms from mosquito bites since he did not receive the preventive medications. When his owner restarted the medication, some immature or mature heartworms in his body reacted to the medication, causing a severe reaction. That’s why if a dog has missed heartworm prevention, a heartworm test is recommended.
【Case report】
A report of a similar case presenting severe signs of heart failure was published in Jurnal Veterinar Malaysia (link)
