Mitral Valve Repair Surgery

Mitral valve repair is the gold standard treatment for mitral valve disease in human medicine. Due to its limited availability in veterinary medicine, dogs usually receive palliative medical treatment. However, surgery is the only option to improve/fix the disease and offer long-term survival. The aim of the surgery is to restore the mitral valve leaflets coaptation and reduce the regurgitation of blood, thus reducing the stress on the heart. The surgery involves a mitral annuloplasty and artificial chordal replacement.

Mitral Valve Repair surgery requires stopping the heart beating to allow its repair. In order to maintain the circulation and oxygenation of the other organs, a cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) machine is used. The CPB machine circulates and oxygenates blood for the body while bypassing the heart and lungs. This surgery incorporates two components: mitral annuloplasty and artificial chordal replacement.

To evaluate your pet’s suitability for the surgery, a series of examinations will be performed. It includes a thorough physical examination, comprehensive blood tests, urinalysis, electrocardiogram, chest X-rays, echocardiography and an abdominal ultrasound. All those tests can be conducted by your local vet and cardiologist. Based on those test results and the staging of heart disease, we will determine if your pet is a suitable candidate for the surgery.

We are happy to introduce you to the fantastic Dr Nobuyuki Kanno and his team - Dr Kanno is a renowned Veterinary Cardiac Surgeon, and one of only a handful of experts, who will bring his expertise in canine open-heart surgery to VSOS, not only performing these procedures directly, but also dedicated to training our team. Ultimately this will give us a sustainable and affordable treatment option for pet Mitral Valve disease here in Australia.  We have completed 18 successful surgeries.

If you are interested in putting forward your pet for assessment, please complete the following form, and our team will contact you.