Louis Frazier Kozlowski

Pet Profiles 2023

We live in Silicon Valley but travelled to Gainesville Florida for Mitral Valve surgery at UFL. We discovered Louis' enlarged heart in Jan 2023. He is an 11 year old Papillon who is VERY lively, and playful. Dr. Richard Kienle of Gilroy put him on Pimobendan and he seemed stable for a year. Louis also has chronic pancreatitis.

When University of Florida announced its surgical program for Mitral Valve repair in August 2023 we applied for surgery to take place in December since we teach and would be able to travel between semesters. Louis was operated on December 19th of 2023, 9 chordae were replaced and the valve was circumscribed with stitches. The surgery took 7 hours during which time Louis was on life support..

After 1 week he was examined and released from the ICU. I took him back to the hotel where I was then, and he continued to recover. Within 2 weeks his atrium had shrunk 30%.We traveled back home to San Jose, and Santa Cruz California.

After one month he seems completely recovered, but we must be careful because of the anti-coagulants he is on. The anti-coagulant is the only medicine he is currently taking. He exercises about 40 minutes a day on a leash. He has all of his old playful habits from before the operation, but we have to restrict him due to the anti-coagulants.

So far he has not had any of his pancreatitis episodes after the surgery. Perhaps the pancreas is receiving a better blood supply, I am gradually increasing the fat content of his food.

There is a lot of planning that went into this trip, and there are some additional costs besides the surgery.

If anybody wants to know further specifics feel free to e-mail me.

Prognosis: Louis seemed stable before the operation. But when the surgeons got into his heart it had 9 torn tendons, and the valves were flapping around. Now Louis is very healthy, but main risk seems to be the potential for developing a blood clot. He really wants to run and play, but that must wait until the 3rd month after surgery. So far his heart is continuing to improve and shrink. His murmer is at stage 2, so he is not completely symptom free, and it is important to realize that a heart that has had this much intervention is a GOOD heart but it is not a 'normal' heart.

What I am most happy about is that Louis has all of his old spirit and charming naughty habits. Perhaps it is too soon to tell, but I am very happy about his progress so far. The first picture is before surgery, and the second is after surgery.

In the second picture you can see his shaved left side after the surgery, but you can also see he seems very strong.