The Surgical Intervention for Dirofilaria Infections in One Dog and One Cat

Heartworm disease is one of the most common mosquito-borne diseases in companion animals. Adulticide treatment is recommended for Dirofilaria infection in dogs. However, surgical removal of adult heartworms may be another treatment option for heartworm disease in dogs and cats when the adult heartworms are identified in the right side of the heart such as right atrium, right ventricle , and pulmonary artery. We report the case of one dog and one cat, where a mini-vascular snare was successfully used to remove the adult heartworms from the right ventricle. The dog and the cat had no history of heartworm prevention. The dog presented with a history of coughing, dyspnea, and right hind limb edema, and the cat presented with intermittent cough and vomiting. The patients were evaluated by parasitological investigation and echocardiography. Echocardiography demonstrated the adult heartworms in the right ventricle of the infected dog and cat. The patients underwent the surgical heartworm removal by passing a 4 mm mini-vascular snare through a catheter. The snare wire was guided by fluoroscopy to gently retract the heartworm toward the catheter. Blood analysis after surgical intervention revealed normal limits, including hepatic function. Echocardiography during the follow-up visits did not show complications associated with the intervention procedure, and the cat and dog showed improvements in respiratory signs after the surgical intervention. This study reported the use of a mini-vascular snare to remove adult heartworms in dogs and cats. The snare device offers another treatment option for heartworm disease in companion animals. This technique can immediately remove the adult heartworms and can be used as another treatment option to reduce the complications of the adulticide drugs in dogs. This study suggests that surgical intervention using a mini vascular snare device is not only a safe but efficient therapeutic method for heartworm removal in dogs and cats.