Two tiny puppies, two miracle heart surgeries at Northern Ireland Veterinary Specialists

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Two tiny puppies are on the road to happy, healthy lives after undergoing lifesaving heart procedures at Northern Ireland Veterinary Specialists (NiVS) in Hillsborough - making it a week the team will never forget.

Little Deahling, an eight‑week‑old Jack Russell Terrier weighing barely more than a bag of sugar, and Peekaboo, a nine‑month‑old crossbreed with a cheeky smile and a big personality, were both diagnosed with the same dangerous heart defect: patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA.

PDA is a condition that, without treatment, can lead to fatal heart failure in very young dogs. But thanks to the highly skilled specialists at NiVS, both pups have been given a brand-new start.

The condition is a defect where a small blood vessel near the heart fails to close after birth, causing abnormal blood flow and severe strain on the heart and lungs

Julie Hamilton Elliott, RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Cardiology at NiVS said:

It’s a condition we need to act on quickly. With prompt treatment, the outcome is incredibly positive - but without it, these dogs face heart failure at a very young age.

PDA occurs in both animals and human babies, and the repairs used in veterinary medicine are very similar to those used in paediatric cardiology. In many cases, a specialist can close the vessel using an advanced ‘keyhole’ technique, but for very small puppies, open‑chest surgery may be the safest option.

At just 1.2kg, tiny Deahling was far too small for a keyhole procedure. Instead, she required a complex open‑chest surgery performed by Joanna McCagherty, RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Surgery. Surgeons carefully accessed her heart and tied off the abnormal vessel by hand, an intricate and delicate procedure

Ms McCagherty said:

She may be tiny, but she was incredibly brave. Her heart is now working normally - it’s a fantastic outcome.

Peekaboo, though still petite at only 2.6kg, was just large enough for a minimally invasive PDA closure. Julie Hamilton Elliott, assisted by Will Davis, RCVS & EBVS® European Specialist in Cardiology from Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists, closed the PDA using an Amplatz Canine Duct Occluder, a small device specifically designed for dogs. The team guided a catheter through a blood vessel in her leg and into her heart under imaging, then deployed the device to seal the PDA - with no open surgery required. Peekaboo returned home shortly afterwards with a tiny incision and an even bigger wagging tail.

NiVS is one of only a handful of centres in Ireland able to offer these advanced cardiac treatments, thanks to its specialist-led cardiology service, state-of-the-art imaging and multidisciplinary team.

Julie said:

This is exactly why specialist care matters - two puppies, two different procedures, two brilliant outcomes.

Today, both Deahling and Peekaboo are recovering well and are expected to live full, healthy lives. Their stories show exactly how early diagnosis and specialist treatment can transform - and save - young lives.

Northern Ireland Veterinary Specialists, based in Hillsborough, was established in 2019 as Northern Ireland’s first multidisciplinary specialist small animal hospital. The hospital now provides Internal Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, Soft Tissue Surgery, Neurosurgery, Oncology, Ophthalmology and Outpatient Diagnostic Imaging, and continues to offer the only full-time Specialist Cardiology service on the island of Ireland.