Tiara Nakayama
Tiara is a 12-year-old Chihuahua. She was diagnosed with MVD on Nov. 2016. Our primary care vet prescribed Apinac 12.5mg for the first half year. In May of 2017, Tiara’s murmur started to get worse, so Dr. Fujisawa added Vetmedin for her. But just after 2 months, she started to cough, and was having difficulties breathing. We brought her to the hospital and they did all the cardiology examinations. The results were Tiara’s heart size was increasing, and the blood of her heart was re-fluxed. The doctor increased the amount of Vetmedin to double the rate and explained the medicine will not let Tiara recover for much longer, but only delay the deterioration. After that, we brought Tiara to the hospital once every 2~3 weeks, to take X-rays and blood test.
In 2018, Tiara’s condition didn’t change from last year, I felt her MVD was under control. In April she started to pant very hard and was nonstop coughing. We did a cardiac ultrasound and the x-ray showed no abnormalities, but I know something was wrong with her, so I planned to get a second opinion. On the 25th of May, Tiara started to cough again late in the night. I brought her to the emergency animal hospital and the doctor checked her thoroughly and said, her tongue was turning purple, she was in a very fragile state and we probably would lose her anytime now. I couldn’t believe what I’ve just heard. They put her inside the ICU and gave her the critical care she needed. The x-ray showed she’s was having pulmonary edema, and couldn’t breathe. After 10 hours of emergency treatment, we brought her back to the primary care vet hospital. She was hospitalized for 6 days, and they added Furosemide to her medicines. At that time I asked the doctor if there was any surgeries available for MVD? And the answer was go to the Jasmine clinic. The doctor said there are many places in Japan currently offering the MVR surgery, only the best was at the Jasmine clinic. It’s not only the best in Japan, but the best in the world. I asked my doctor to make the reservation for Tiara, and the appointment at Jasmine was scheduled for 6/8 for the preoperative examination.
Jasmine’s Cardiologist is Dr. Arane Takahashi, very nice and friendly doctor. She explained every single detail of the surgery and was very professional. We planned the surgery date for 7/18/18. Between that time Tiara had one more Pulmonary edema. I wanted to spend all my time with her and was counting the days for surgery. Finally we arrived for Tiara’s surgery day and It was successful. Tiara was discharged after 6 days. I really want to thank to Dr. Masami Uechi and his team and of course my primary care doctor Dr. Yoshiro Fujisawa. Without Jasmine, my Tiara would still be suffering now from advanced MVD symptoms. I also met so many MVD families and pets at the Jasmine clinic, they shared their stories and encouraged me during my time at the clinic. Now Tiara is recovering very well, thanks to everyone who has helped me. I hope every dog suffering with MVD can get good treatment at the Jasmine clinic and recover soon.
Breed: Long coat Chihuahua
Age: 12
Diagnosis Stage: C/D
Surgery Date: July 7th, 2018
Hometown: Osaka, Japan
Owner: Angélique Nakayama
Cardiologist: Dr. Yoshiro Fujisawa, Hyogo Pet Medical Center
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center
