Cardiology team continues canine cure

FORT COLLINS, COLO. - 09/20/05 - Dr. Chris Orton led the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine cardiac team in the successful heart-valve replacement surgery in a 9-month-old yellow Labrador retriever, which was born with a defective valve.

The James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital has performed more than 100 successful canine open-heart surgeries in the past 10 years. The puppy, Rex, was released to owner Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France champion, three weeks after the procedure.

"This surgery offers Rex the possibility of a lifelong cure, as long as the prosthetic valve continues to function well and does not develop complications, such as blood clots," Orton says. "Rex will have to be monitored carefully for the next several months, but he should be able to live a normal life. Right now, he sure doesn't look like a dog that just had heart surgery; he is doing great."

Rex received an artificial heart valve made from bovine pericardial tissue. During the five-hour surgery, the new valve was placed in the heart while the dog's blood was circulated through a heart-lung machine; then his heart was restarted. The dog will remain on blood thinners for the next three months and will undergo several check-ups by a veterinary cardiologist.