A family is full of joy to have their 20-month-old crossbreed Labrador-Pitbull home following treatment for a heart murmur recently.

The murmur was discovered by the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science when the canine dubbed Hera came into the north of Pretoria animal clinic for routine sterilisation.

Heart murmurs are sounds of whooshing or swishing made by rapid and irregular fluctuations of blood flowing through the heart.

The successful surgery was performed in May at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH).

Director of OVAH, Dr Paul van Dam said of the heart murmurs: “The staff was surprised as the swooshing sounds were not expected in such a young patient.”

He said the anaesthetist on duty, Dr Keagan Boustead was called in and suggested an operation.

“The owners could unfortunately not afford the heart surgery, but were very keen to have it done, as Hera is a much-loved member of their family,” said Van Dam.

Van Dam said UP saw a perfect opportunity to give back to the community, while also allowing OVAH’s qualified veterinarians, studying towards becoming specialists some exposure to the treatment of such a case.

“It was decided to perform the surgery free of charge.”

He said the next day, a procedure began.

He explained that before birth, a normal but temporary blood vessel that connected two major arteries and shunted blood from the pulmonary artery into the aorta, main artery had not sealed itself.

“At birth, this blood vessel should close to allow normal circulation through the lungs, where blood is oxygenated.

“If it remains open, it leads to excess blood flow to the pulmonary circulation and left heart chambers, and this usually leads to congestive heart failure within the first two years of life.”

Van Dam said if the vessel was not closed, it would have early death for the animal.

“We do not see many cases with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA),” he said.

Van Dam said the surgery was carried out without any complications and Hera returned home two days later, without a heart murmur and without the risk of developing early congestive heart failure.

He said the canine now had a full chance of living a long and happy life.