Page 6 - Clinical Connections - Summer 2024

RVC RESEARCH STUDY VETERINARY SERVICES RVC.AC.UK
Heart surgery
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY TEAM
PROGRESS

Dan Brockman, who leads the team
and is Professor of Small Animal
Surgery, outlines developments in
the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service,
which are enabling more dogs to be
treated. The RVC’s service, which
was established in 2005, is the only
place in the UK offering “open-heart”
surgery to canine patients. As Dan
explains, other elements of the team,
in addition to the surgeons, are vital
to deliver an exceptional service to
dogs and their owners.
In common with many initiatives, we lost a
bit of ground due to the impact of COVID in
recent years but we are making it up again
now. Our team is strengthening and we’ve
recently hired two Registered Veterinary
Nurses; Rachel Collin and Kayley Dowd,
who are dedicated to the cardiothoracic Dan Brockman with Mabel, who had pioneering open-heart surgery to treat congenital tricuspid
service both of whom have extensive dysplasia, in 2016
previous experience in busy practices.
They are working alongside Sarah Carey, consistency of seeing a familiar face every repair is low and we have an important part
our Cardiothoracic Service Co-ordinator, time they come to the hospital and hearing to play in building more capacity. We are
and have been learning the ropes very a consistent voice on the phone. The client booking cases into 2025 already. We are
quicky. Our nurses are crucial to the success care aspect of cardiothoracic surgery is so currently doing two surgeries a week again,
of the programme and have a very broad important, as these pet owners are often which is what we were doing before COVID,
ranging role – they are patient co-ordinators, extremely emotionally bonded clients. and if we can attract more anaesthesiology
theatre nurses, deliver ICU care and support and cardiology personnel, we can potentially
general client communication and facilitation Surgical team developments go up to three cases a week. It becomes
of visits. It’s a slightly different role from most Matteo Rossanese [Lecturer in Soft Tissue much easier to train people when you
traditional nursing roles in the hospital as it’s Surgery] declared an interest in open have a higher throughput as the trainee will
not discipline-specific – they have to cross heart surgery some years ago and has “climb” the “learning curve” more quickly.
lots of disciplines. been “scrubbing in” with me for a couple of In relation to the broader team, we have
The nurses meet the clients and follow the years. Matteo is a very gifted surgeon who two new cardiologists [see spring’s issue of
patients all the way through their care. The has already completed advanced surgical Clinical Connections], Nekesa Morey and
people who manage this particular group training and so having such a competent Joshua Hannabuss, and they, along with our
of canine patients need to understand the pair of hands involved with the surgery is enthusiastic team of cardiology residents,
needs of the dogs which are subtly different extremely helpful. are extremely helpful to the programme.
from many other patients. The consistency We’ve got to the stage now where we
of having the same person look at the essentially assist each other – we take
animal multiple times a day, allows them it in turns to be the primary surgeon and
to pick up very subtle changes – and those assistant surgeon. Matteo is acting as the
subtle changes can be very important! primary surgeon with guidance now and I
Having a core group of people who work would hope that, given another year or so,
with these patients all the time, rather than he will be capable of doing the procedure on
the patient moving from ward to ward, where his own, without my input.
a new group of people have to get familiar We are also hoping to get both a
with them, enables better consistency of Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow and
care – and therefore also better consistency Perfusion Fellow back on the books this
of results. year. It’s about succession planning for me
That continuity of care is also ideal for now – I’d ultimately like to walk away from
interaction with clients – they love knowing this programme by the time I retire knowing
that they will see a certain nurse and a certain that it’s sustainable and it will continue.
vet. Because it’s often such an emotional The demand is enormous but the supply RVC surgeons Dan Brockman and Matteo
experience for owners, they really like the worldwide of people who can do mitral valve Rossanese with a mitral valve surgery patient

6 Summer 2024