Overview
Willows Veterinary Referral Center
It is a world-class professional veterinary medical institution located in the Birmingham area of the United Kingdom, specializing in high-level veterinary referral services, with a highly professional team of world-class veterinary specialists, veterinary nurses, technical and support staff.
Highlights
The Transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral regurgitation repair product V-Clamp has won the recognition and trust because of its excellent product quality and clinical efficacy in the first successful case in the UK.
Willows and Vet Times（ a well-known veterinary industry news media） reported on this case.
Details
“We‘re exceptionally proud to announce that our world-renowned Specialist Cardiology team is currently the only one in the UK, and one of very few across the world, pioneering transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER), to treat dogs with advanced mitral valve disease - the most common heart disease seen in dogs.
The first TEER procedure carried out at Willows was to treat Chester, a 10-year-old Havanese. Performed as a minimally invasive heart procedure, TEER achieves significant results and improves the quality of life, with patients often released from the hospital in under two days.
To be accredited to perform this procedure, our Specialist Cardiology team, along with our Soft Tissue and Anaesthesia teams, underwent a lengthy training process, including training at Shanghai's Hongyu Medical Center and Colorado State University.
Outcomes
The first TEER patient, a 10-year-old Havanese named Chester, is said to be recovering well following the operation, which involved two anaesthetists, two soft tissue surgeons, three cardiologists and three cardiology nurses.
The hospital’s cardiologists also underwent extensive training in the US and China before conducting the procedure.
Dr Swift said: “The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia through a small incision in the chest wall.
Discussion
“Access within the beating heart is achieved by a needle puncture at the apex of the heart, which is highlighted by continuous x-ray images and an ultrasound of the heart via a probe placed in the oesophagus.
“This allows correct positioning of a V-clamp across the mitral valve to reduce the amount of leakage.”
