Hi,
I have a 3 week old female pug. She was diagnosed with patent ductus arterious. I was told the only option for her is surgery wich cost about $2,000.00. I was reading about rimadyl and how it can help with pda. Is this an option I can try for my puppy?
pda cure
Posted on 2008/09/24 by User
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babySymptoms: breathing, exercise intolerance, lethargy -
Veteran Advisor David says:
Hi there, sory to hear about you pup. Rimadyl is not an option for PDA unfortunately. The only corrective way is via surgery really... see below...
The degree to which your dog is affected depends on the magnitude of the defect. This can range anywhere from a small blind pocket off the aorta which doesn't cause any problems, to varying degrees of abnormal blood flow through the ductus between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. Most commonly there is a shunt from the left to the right side of the heart , with blood from the higher pressure aorta continuously shunted to the main pulmonary artery. This means an increased volume of blood to the lungs which results in fluid build-up (pulmonary edema) and volume overload to the left heart. You may see coughing, reduced tolerance of exercise, loss of weight, and eventually, congestive heart failure.
Surgery is recommended in all dogs less than 2 years of age in which a left-to-right shunting PDA has been diagnosed. Surgical treatment consists of tying off the patent ductus and is quite successful. Surgery should be performed as soon as possible - as early as 8 to 16 weeks of age - before changes have occurred as the heart tries to compensate for the defect. The prognosis for a normal life with early surgery is usually very good. Where there are signs of heart disease, there are increased risks associated with surgery and your veterinarian will recommend medical stabilization before surgery.
I hope that helps, David
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