A Second Chance for Bentley: High-Risk Heart Surgery Gives French Bulldog New Life
Originally Published
By the time Amanda Fiorini brought her French Bulldog, Bentley, to The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) in February 2024, she was running out of options — and time. The two-and-a-half-year-old pup had been fainting more often and struggling to keep up on walks, despite being on heart medication. Fiorini couldn’t shake the feeling that something deeper was going on. Bentley wasn’t just tired; he was fading, and she knew she had to act fast to figure out why.
At Ohio State, the Cardiology and Interventional Medicine Service quickly discovered that Bentley wasn’t dealing with heart failure after all. Instead, he had a severe supravalvular pulmonary stenosis, a serious congenital heart defect sometimes seen in French Bulldogs. The condition occurs when the pulmonary artery above the valve is narrowed, making it harder for the right heart to pump blood out into the lungs to meet the body’s needs. Left untreated, it can lead to right-sided heart failure or even sudden cardiac death.
“French Bulldogs like Bentley often have very narrow pulmonary arteries and have heart conditions that limit treatment options such as standard balloon procedures,” says Karsten Schober, DVM, PhD, DECVIM-CA, professor of veterinary clinical sciences and cardiology and interventional medicine section head. “The vessel simply recoils and may even rupture.”
“Instead, we use a procedure with a balloon-mounted stent, which is the best option but also very high-risk. To place the stent, we must briefly block blood flow from the right heart, and if anything goes wrong, the patient could die. That’s why few institutions attempt it,” Schober says.
Even after learning about the risks, Fiorini and her family didn’t hesitate. They knew they wanted to give Bentley every possible chance. As the team at Ohio State prepared for the high-stakes procedure, they reached out to a trusted collaborator: Arash Salavitabar, MD, a congenital interventional cardiologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Ohio State.
Salavitabar’s expertise in pediatric cases provides a valuable model for partnering with veterinarians at Ohio State on catheter-based procedures for small-breed dogs. He had worked with the team on a similar case the year prior and agreed to join them once again.
Together, they performed the delicate procedure and successfully placed the stent, reducing the severity of Bentley’s condition by more than half. Bentley came through without a single complication. Looking back, Fiorini says she and her husband are beyond grateful for the team’s expertise, their communication, and the deep care they showed every step of the way.
“The care that we received at Ohio State was above and beyond, better than I expected,” she says. “I get emotional when I think about how much they stayed in touch with me the whole time that he was in the interventional suite.”
Over one year later, and after a recent VMC visit, Bentley continues to do well, says Schober. Fiorini says Bentley is full of energy. “He can run around and play with the family. He’s living a normal life. I don’t know what I would do now without him.”