A SIBERIAN Husky with a rare heart tumour has made a remarkable recovery, after a year of pioneering treatment at a state-of-the-art animal hospital. 

Dexter, a 10-year-old Siberian Husky, was in heart failure after being diagnosed with a rare tumour, leaving his owners devastated as they were told there was nothing that could be done to save him. 

However, the family refused to give up hope and sought a second opinion at the Southfields Veterinary Specialists Hospital in Laindon.

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Southfields pledged to the owners that they would do all they could to save Dexter and a team of specialists combined their expertise and experience in a truly multidisciplinary approach to tackle the complex case.

The £16 million hospital is only one of three veterinary hospitals in England where radiation oncology and interventional radiology can be offered alongside each other.

Jon Wray, internal medicine specialist, cardiology clinician, and interventional radiologist, said: “Dexter first came to us in March 2022 with heart failure caused by the large tumour arising from the base of his heart.

“Heart base tumours are unusual, and it is rare for UK vets to have the expertise in radiotherapy to be able to offer this form of treatment.”

He added: “His response to radiotherapy was incredible, with massive shrinkage of the tumour being achieved.

“Dexter’s case is a great example of the high quality of the multidisciplinary care we offer at Southfields.”

Sadly, a few months later Dexter developed a rare condition called Budd-Chiari syndrome, where blood returning to the heart from the abdomen is blocked.

This presented a serious challenge for Dexter and the Southfields’ team, with Jon taking the lead to perform a ground-breaking procedure called trans-atrial stenting.

He added: “It is a rarely performed procedure and needs sophisticated planning and experience with vascular interventional radiology processes. 

“The remarkable aspect is that I was able to perform the whole process without a single surgical incision or suture.

“That us because the entire procedure was performed through not even a ‘keyhole’ incision but by puncturing a large vein with a needle and inserting an access sheath into it, through which I could ‘drive and navigate’ instruments into the heart.

“It showcases our expertise in radiation oncology and highlights that the interventional radiology we offer does not exist anywhere else in the UK.”