A poorly English springer spaniel who fainted more than 40 times in just one evening is back home with her owners following emergency surgery at a Wakefield animal hospital.
At the height of her fainting seizures, four-year-old Rosie was collapsing every two to three minutes before specialists at Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals were able to fit a pacemaker.
Rosie’s deterioration in health was rapid, as earlier the same day she was out enjoying walks with her owner Frances Johnson from Pocklington without any problems.
It was when she started suddenly collapsing after returning home that Rosie was rushed to a vet in York who then referred her to Paragon, where experts quickly diagnosed she had a heart block, causing her heart to fluctuate dangerously between 30 beats per minute to 120 beats per minute.
With this erratic heart rate, Rosie was not getting enough blood to supply her brain, causing her to faint.
Debbie Hyman, a cardiologist at Paragon Referrals and one of the surgical team who conducted the operation, said: “It was immediately obvious Rosie needed a pacemaker.
“The anaesthetic team, additional nurses and Chris Linney, head of cardiology who was actually off duty, were all called into action and Rosie was in theatre within an hour.
“By this time, Rosie’s heart rate had plummeted to just 15 beats per minute under anaesthetic and her blood pressure was dropping dangerously low.
“We had to work fast to fit the pacemaker but once her heart rate improved, her vital signs immediately responded and we all breathed a sigh of relief. She hasn’t collapsed since and we are hopeful that with regular checks and monitoring, Rosie will have a happy and long life ahead of her.”
Rosie, who is now fully reliant on her pacemaker, was discharged two days after surgery.
Grateful owner Frances said: “We had initial disbelief that a dog so young would need a pacemaker.
“Paragon kept us updated as to what was happening and when they were going to put the pacemaker in. Now it’s been inserted, Rosie is massively better and hasn’t fainted since.”
Paragon provides expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.
For more information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals, visit
www.paragonreferrals.co.uk or search for Paragon Veterinary Referrals on social media.
