Surgical correction of subvalvular aortic stenosis using cardiopulmonary bypass in a dog

A three-month-old male Golden Retriever had symptoms including exercise intolerance, dyspnea and syncope and was diagnosed with subvalvular aortic stenosis. Cardiac catheterization revealed a left ventricular-aortic systolic pressure gradient of 90 mm Hg. Surgical correction of the condition was achieved using cardiopulmonary bypass. The subvalvular fibrous lesion was resected through an aortotomy. The stenosis was dilated from 8.5 mm to 12.0 mm in diameter. Postoperatively the dog was asymptomatic. Seven months after surgery, the pressure gradient decreased to 44 mm Hg. However, after another three months, the dog died suddenly without any premonitory signs. Postmortem examination revealed that pathologic changes caused by increased left ventricular pressure overload were not severe.