LSU Cardiology Service Implants Internal Defibrillator in a Dog

 General is a six-month-old male German Shepherd, who resides in Jackson, Mo., with his owners.  Although apparently healthy, he was diagnosed with irregular heartbeats. General was started on anti-arrhythmic medications, but it is known that drugs mildly decrease the risk of sudden death at best. The treatment of choice was to implant an internal cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD.  Because of the difficulties associated with the implantation of a highly complex device designed for humans and the cost involved with such a procedure, there is only one pet with cardiac disease that has to this day received an internal defibrillator. With the support of an ICD manufacturer (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.), General’s owners were able to obtain an ICD. They contacted the cardiology service at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, which accepted the challenge of performing this rare procedure coordinated by Dr. Romain Pariaut, assistant professor of veterinary cardiology. 

Equine Health Studies Program Has New Director

 The LSU SVM is pleased to announce that Frank Andrews, DVM, MS, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, is the new director of the Equine Health Studies Program. He started on August 4.  Dr. Andrews comes to LSU from the University Of Tennessee College Of Veterinary Medicine, where he was professor and section chief of large animal medicine. He earned his DVM and MS degrees from Washington State University and completed his residency at The Ohio State University. He has received many awards and honors and has served on numerous boards and in societies such as the Comparative Gastroenterology Society (past president), Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis Society (past president), Medical Advisory Board of the Knoxville Zoologic Park, and Equine Advisory Council with Astra-Zeneca, Merial and Intervet, Inc. He has published over 100 refereed publications and book chapters and he has presented his research internationally. We would like to welcome Dr. Andrews to the LSU SVM family!