One puppy was only expected to only live a year because of a heart problem, but thanks to Dr. Jessica Ward and some new technology, it is now predicted to have a full life.

Ward, assistant professor of veterinary clinical sciences, performed a surgery called an exclusion of a patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA, on a 7-month-old puppy in September. The puppy, named Carmen, had a congenital heart disease, which can lead to an abnormal connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery.

Ward, who has been working at Iowa State since Sept. 15, brought her cardiac specialties from North Carolina State University, where she worked for the past 15 years. She has only performed this specific surgery on one animal at Iowa State but is looking forward to more.

The surgery began by Carmen going under general anesthesia and laying on her side. A long catheter was inserted into her groin and eventually into her femoral artery, which led to the heart. The catheter then released some dye so the heart was more visible.

Next, the size of the PDA was measured so Ward could know which size of device to insert into the heart. The device is two small disks connected by a small piece. It is called an ACDO, or Amplatz Canine Ductal Occluder.

The device was then inserted into the heart by twisting the catheter while the device expanded from that and eventually detached and was in the heart.

The device basically plugs a small hole causing the heart problems. It will likely stay in Carmen’s heart her whole life.

The surgery took about an hour and a half and was recorded on a camera that displayed Carmen’s heart during the surgery.

Carmen was lucky enough to have a successful surgery. She went home the next day and is anticipated to live a normal dog’s life expectancy.

“[Carmen] had no problems with her surgery,” said Barbara Reynolds, Carmen’s owner. “Dr. Ward was wonderful to work with. She was very caring and couldn’t have done any better than if it were her own dog.”

Reynolds also said it was a very easy procedure and appreciated how it was far less invasive than an open-chest surgery.

Ward believes her previous experience helped her while performing the surgery.

“I did a one-year rotating internship in small animal medicine at Ohio State and a three-year residency in cardiology at North Carolina State,” Ward said.

Ward also obtained her bachelor’s degree at Duke before going to North Carolina State for vet school.

Ward said she only focused on cardiac-related problems at North Carolina State to prepare herself to become a specialized vet. She also said she did about 60 to 70 cardiac procedures during her time in residency.

Ward said her time at Iowa State is not only spent with surgeries, however.

“My time here is 50 percent clinical and 50 percent other,” Ward said. “I spend some of my time teaching students and some of my time doing research. Most of what I do [in clinical] is seeing patients, diagnosing the diseases, performing echocardiograms, talking with owners and prescribing medications. Actual procedures are a more rare part of my job.”

Before Ward came to Ames, there hadn’t been a single cardiac surgery in about five years at Iowa State. The only other cardiologist in vet med is Wendy Ware, professor of veterinary clinical sciences, and she has worked for Iowa State for 29 years.

Ware was also the only veterinary cardiologist in Iowa before Ward arrived. She still works for vet med but does not perform surgeries.

Although Ward has been at Iowa State for only a few months, she said she feels welcomed.

“There was a lot of demand and interest in having more cardiology service available,” Ward said. “It’s been very rewarding to come in and see the enthusiasm that people have for cardiology here.”

Ward thinks that she and the hospital have room to grow.

“I would love to train my own resident,” Ward said of her future goals. “I’d like vet med to fill out the other specialty services so that we can have a really strong team of all different specialties to offer.”