Cardiothoracic Surgery at the RVC

The RVC is Europe's leading centre for pet heart surgery, having been at the forefront for more than a decade.

We wanted to keep you updated on the status of the RVC’s heart surgery programme. Unfortunately, we are still unable to perform any heart surgery in our small animal referral service, and this situation will not change for at least this summer. The reasons for this are multifactorial and include the numerous changes required to manage the impacts of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

We realise how urgent the successful reintroduction of the programme is and assure you that we are continuing to explore the logistics of re-starting this service. However, we have to ensure that recommencement of the programme can be both a successful and sustainable endeavour.

We will, of course, advise you as soon as more information is available and appreciate your understanding. As ever, please continue to work with your cardiologist and local primary care vet for the ongoing care of your pet.

If you have further queries, please contact qmhaheartsurgery@rvc.ac.uk.

The first open heart surgery at the RVC took place in 2005. It was performed by Professor of Small Animal Surgery Dan Brockman. In 2016, the RVC became the first veterinary service in the world to successfully treat a dog's stenotic (narrowed) tricuspid valve with open heart surgery. The Labrador patient, Mabel, suffered from congenital tricuspid dysplasia. Dysplasia of the tricuspid valve can cause either leakage of blood or stenosis.

Heart valve dysplasia can affect the aortic, pulmonary, mitral or tricuspid valves of the heart. The most common one to affect dogs is mitral valve disease and the RVC is one of a few centres in world to correct the condition with surgery.