Patent ductus arteriosus ligation in two young cats with pulmonary hypertension.

We report two feline cases of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The subjects were both intact domestic shorthair cats, a 4-month-old, 2.5 kg male (case 1) and an 8-month-old, 2.12 kg female (case 2). At the first presentation, left-sided congestive heart failure was diagnosed in case 1 and severe aortic stenosis (AS) in case 2. Following surgical ligation of the ductus arteriosus (DA), furosemide therapy was no longer required in case 1, and the severe AS improved to mild status in case 2 perhaps because of reduced volume overload. In case 2, severe hypoxemia was revealed after surgery; however, this normalized within 96 days after surgery.