Michael Gray proclaimed:

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:49:57 -0600, Pangur Ban <Whistleblower@att.net>
wrote:
- Refer: <mn.55957d767ccde167.73271@att.net>

Michael Gray wrote on 6/10/2007 :

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 12:55:12 -0600, Pangur Ban <Whistleblower@att.net>
wrote:
- Refer: <mn.52ae7d76f35693d3.73271@att.net>

Michael Gray opined :

From Australiasian Science
May 2007

"A 15 year old cat named Heidi has become the first feline to receive
a pacemaker in Victoria, and possibly Australia.
Heidi had been suffering from fainting spells for 4 months, but blood
tests had found nothing wrong, so she was referred to Dr. Carolyn
O'Brien of the University of Melbourne.
O'Brien is Victoria's only registered cat specialist.
"A 24 hour ECG revealed that Heidi's heart stopped beating for short
periods (arrhythmia), reducing the amount of blood flowing to the body
and resulting in her fainting.
As there is no medication to prevent the condition, and the risk of
sudden death from an arrhythmic episode is significant, fitting a
pacemaker was recommended", O'Brien says.
While putting pacemakers in humans and even dogs is now routine, cats
need something much smaller.
The unit needed to be placed between Hidi's abdominal muscles, with
wires leading to the heart.

Whenever arrhythmia occurs, the pacemaker provides a stimulus to keep
the heart beating.
Since the operation, Heidi has experienced no more fainting episodes."

(Still no cure for cancer)

As long as the quality of her life is acceptable, I am all for such
surgery!

Pang - whose allergic pit with two "blown" knees is and has been very
expensive - but worth every cent!

"Blown" knees?
Front driver's side, and rear passenger side?

LOL - both rear ones .... surgery done on both to enable him to walk.
At least they blew a couple of years apart.

Hadrian kneeds YOU!
<Poster of a Roman Emperor sternly pointing>

Seriously now: Dysplasia?

Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture

Dog and cat knees are similar to humans. For example, knees have five
ligaments, two menisci, a knee cap, and joint cartilage. The ligament
most commonly affected in dog and cat knees - the cranial cruciate
ligament - is the same ligament most commonly damaged in professional
athletes. Dogs and cats usually tear this ligament when out running
around, or sometimes when landing wrong after a jump.

The cranial cruciate ligament is a large, strong ligament located
within the knee joint. It is not actually a single structure, but is,
in fact, made up of a bundle of individual fibers tightly bound
together to form the ligament. Most of the time when the ligament is
injured, it is completely torn in half. Sometimes, though, only a
portion of the ligament will tear. Though only a portion of the
ligament may be torn, the whole ligament is damaged.

When a cranial cruciate ligament is torn, it causes sudden pain and
often results in the pet holding its leg up. It also causes an
instability in the knee joint. The pet may put the leg down and start
using it within a day or so, but will continue to limp for several
weeks. Normally, at the end of several weeks, the initial pain subsides
and the pet is willing to use its leg more; however, the joint remains
unstable. Every time the animal puts weight on the leg, the tibia (shin
bone) slides forward in relationship to the femur (thigh bone). This
abnormal motion causes wear and tear on the joint cartilage, causing
pain and leading to arthritis. This motion can also put excessive
stress on the menisci (C shaped pieces of cartilage within the knee
joint), causing damage or tearing.

Surgery is the only corrective measure for cranial cruciate ligament
injuries. Many surgical procedures have been tried on people and
animals during the last 60 years; however, most orthopaedic surgeons
agree that the procedures are not as successful as they would like.
Knees that suffer this injury are never completely normal even after
surgery is performed. Surgery does, though, stabilize the knee,
allowing it to regain normal motion and thereby reducing the formation
of arthritis. Surgery has been and remains the treatment of choice for
this injury. If surgery is not performed, progressive arthritis will
occur and the lameness will worsen with time.

Hadrian did well after both surgeries.

Pang