**UPDATE ON RUCA'S VISIT TO ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE IN GUELPH**
Ruca went to Guelph on Tuesday for the ultrasound to confirm PDA and then she would be admitted for surgery on Wednesday.
Ultrasound was done around noon and I got an urgent message to call the wonderful foster mom (Linda) when I returned from lunch. All it said was to call, not good news.
What they originally thought was PDA, they are now saying was SAS. SAS has three grades or levels: Mild, where she will live her life as is with no medication or surgery needed. Moderate, where she will be on medication and live normally until one day when she just drops dead and Severe - a death sentence.
Linda had a 3:30 appointment to confirm which grade or level this was so I was on pins and needles until my phone rang again around 4pm. Linda was beside herself.....
It was NOT PDA, it was NOT SAS (THANK GOODNESS), but something referred to as VSD. On a side note, these vets sure do like their acronyms, huh? *g*
VSD, ventricular septal defect, basically means she has a hole in her heart. Due to how small they discovered it to be, they have decided that nothing can or should be done to correct it, but that Ruca should have another ultrasound next year to confirm there is still nothing to be done.
*hugh sigh of relief*
Here is the report directly from Guelph on Ruca:
"Ruca presented to the OVC (Ontario Veterinary College) for a suspected patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Our evaluation consisted of an exam, blood pressure and an ultrasound. On
exam, a loud (5/6) systolic murmur was heard over the left and right heart base. Her blood pressure was normal.
An ultrasound reveals that Ruca has a small hole between her left and right ventricles - this is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). The hole is very small therefore it creates a loud murmur. Although blood is shunting from left to right, hemodynamically this is not causing problems with her right heart (i.e.: volume overload). There is no correction for a VSD at this time, however, based on its small size and degree of shunting, this lesion is unlikely to affect the length nor the quality of her life if it is left uncorrected. As she is a puppy, we would recommend a repeat ultrasound in one year to evaluate if there are any sequella related to her VSD. There is no evidence of sub aortic stenosis."
Let me tell you all, this was absolutely the best news we could have hoped for for Ruca! She's been moved to another foster home that has a boxer and quite a bit of land for her to play on, and this foster home has expressed interest in adopting her once she's spayed.
Due to the incredible kindness of people like you - willing to donate to just one of soooo many dogs in need, Ruca had this opportunity to see a specialist to diagnose her "defect". The consultation and ultrasound were $490 and we've received almost enough donations to cover this.
THANK YOU ALL once again. We are going to close this request for donations but will leave it up for a few more days so people can read the update.
Thank you again!
Brenda
LOYAL Rescue
http://www.loyal.petfinder.com
http://www.loyalrescue.com