Marley may have a heart problem

[AZ Boxer Boys]

Let me give a little background. When Marley was a couple weeks old, the breeder took the litter to the vet for their first check up. Marley was diagnosed with a heart murmur. When we purchased him, our vet also also indicated he had a heart murmur. Over the past couple of months, the heart murmur has disappeared.

However, today I took Marley in to be neutered, he's about 5 months old. I received a call from the vet shortly after I left him there. She indicated the pre-surgery EKG was abnormal. She recommended doing an x-ray, which I agreed to. I received a second call about an hour later, she said Marley's heart was slightly enlarged. She was hesitant about doing the surgery without knowing exactly what was going on with his heart. She suggested an ultrasound (echo), which she said is pretty expensive and indicated that it was up to me whether we went ahead with the surgery or not. I told her to cancel the surgery for now as I wanted to talk with the breeder.

In our contract with the breeder, she agreed to pay for an echo/ultrasound if it was warranted when Marley was older. I am calling the breeder this evening. Does anyone have any experience with this or words of wisdom as what we should do?

Thanks
Cindy

 

[Albie]

I'm sorry to hear about Marley's problem. I just wanted to suggest that if you have the echo done, go to a board certified cardiologist. Our regular vet evaluated Lacy prior to seeing a cardiologist, and from the x-ray he took, he told us her heart was slightly enlarged. When we consulted the cardiologist she saw no evidence of an enlarged heart. We have had two echocardiograms done by the cardiologist and a holter monitor done. I think the echo we just had done in April was around $300, but because of the cardiologist's expertise, I feel it was money well spent. Lacy is three years old and has had a murmur since she was a puppy. Two years ago the cardiologist graded the murmur as a 1/2 and in April she graded it as a 2/3. We saw a different doctor in April than two years ago, and she did tell us that the grading of murmurs is very subjective, and it is possible the murmur hasn't become worse, there could just be a difference between the way the two doctors grade murmurs. Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do.

 

[AZ Boxer Boys]

Quick update - the breeder suggested waiting until Marley is a little older to do the test - he's 4 1/2 months now and she suggested waiting until he is 6 - 7 months old - - this will allow his heart to develop a more - she said if we do it now, it may not be conclusive and we may have to repeat it later. She is calling our vet tomorrow to discuss whether the vet feels we can wait.

Cindy

 

[matilda8255]

Go see a Cardiopulmonary vet if you are concerned & skip the other vet. Though they may tell you to wait until he is a little older. There is a great cardio Dr. at Mesa Vet Hospital. Dr. Jeffery.

http://www.mesavet.com/staff/Default.htm

Will you PM me with the name of your breeder. I am curious because my Molly was diagnosed with BCM (boxer cardiomyopathy) and she came from an AZ breeder. She may have been mis-diagnosed the first time and we are weening her off the meds so she can have a clean holter test done with Dr. Jeffery. He talked to me for quite a while on the phone so you may try to call and speak with him.

Stephanie