The Royal Veterinary College has been at the forefront of veterinary cardiothoracic surgery for many years. Groundbreaking procedures delivered by the RVC team have saved the lives of and given a new lease of life to numerous dogs.

The RVC’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Service, which was established in 2005, is the only veterinary team in the UK offering ‘open-heart’ surgery to canine patients. In the procedures, the heart is bypassed and the functioning of the heart and lungs is replicated by the team using a cardiopulmonary bypass machine (also known as a heart-lung machine).

The capacity of the service has been steadily expanding over the years so that it can help more dogs with debilitating and often fatal heart diseases. A number of dogs have been brought from overseas to receive life-saving treatment at the RVC.

The multidisciplinary team and continuity of care

The service is led by Professor Dan Brockman, one of the key figures in the world to advance heart surgery in dogs. Dan has been involved in several pioneering cases as a clinician and is world renowned educator of veterinary surgeons.

The Cardiothoracic Surgery Service is made up of a range of professionals with a wealth of skills and experience, which enables the RVC to offer an exceptional service to dogs and their owners. These include veterinary surgeons, anaesthetists, Registered Veterinary Nurses and a perfusionist (who operates the cardiopulmonary bypass machine).

Dogs receiving this advanced treatment often spend time in the intensive care unit (ICU) and nurses from the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service look after patients while they are there. This continuity of care is extremely important as patients recover from surgery. The nurses in the team are also experienced surgical nurses and, therefore, the same veterinary nurses care for each of our patients throughout their stay in hospital. This continuous oversight allows them to notice any subtle changes in the dogs they care for.

As it is a small, dedicated team managing our cardiothoracic surgery patients, owners can be confident that any team member they speak to will be able to give an update on how their dog is getting on.

Another RVC team, the Veterinary Cardiology Service, works closely with the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service in assessing patients and deciding which dogs are most suitable for surgical intervention. The cardiologists and the Cardiothoracic Surgery team also work very closely with our Diagnostic Imaging Service, which uses the most advanced technologies to visualise the heart and vascular system. This expertise and technology enables precise diagnoses and helps the team plan surgery for each patient.

Canine conditions treated by open-heart surgery

Case Studies

Mitral Valve Disease Owner Information Sheet

Open-heart Surgery Information Sheet