The Cardiology Service in collaboration with the Internal Medicine Service at Iowa State University’s Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital is now offering a new procedure for dogs.
The Endovascular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt procedure will be performed by Dr. Kristen Poplawski, a cardiologist at the hospital. She will be in consultation with Dr. Jean-Sebastien Palerme, internal medicine specialist on the cases along with other team members from the cardiology and internal medicine services.
During her residency program, Poplawski was trained on the procedure and received advanced training at an interventional radiology course since joining the College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty.
“The procedure requires specialized skills in minimally invasive techniques including vascular catheter manipulation, stent deployment and coil placement,” Poplawski said.
The procedure is required to address a congenital malformation that some dogs suffer from. In these dogs, an abnormal blood vessel allows portal blood to bypass the liver and directly enter circulation to the rest of the dog’s body.
Because the blood is not appropriately processed by the liver, certain substances cause negative effects to the dog.
“These can range from neurologic abnormalities including dullness and even seizures,” Poplawski said. “The liver becomes poorly developed due to overall decreased blood flow to the organ.”
Because of these clinically significant shunts, patients can experience a decrease in the quantity and quality of life even with medical therapy. As a result, closure or attenuation of these shunts is recommended and what Poplawski and Palerme will be treating with the new procedure.
The procedure will entail placing a stent within a large blood vessel in the abdomen to allow for coils to be safely deployed across the stent and within the abnormal blood vessel in the liver. These coils will then reduce blood flow through the abnormal connection between the portal vein and hepatic vein.
February 2025