Vet Med - Czech, 2026, 71(10):434-439 | DOI: 10.17221/91/2025-VETMED

Heartworm removal using the basket catheter technique in a 1.85 kg cat with pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure: A case reportCase Report

S-Y Park ORCID...¹, W-K Yoon², Y Oh ORCID...¹

¹ Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine & Institute for Veterinary Biomedical Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea

² Guardian Angel Veterinary Hospital, Anyang, Republic of Korea

Feline heartworm infection poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges owing to its distinct clinical features compared to canine cases. Even a single worm can cause life-threatening complications, including pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure. There is no definitive treatment available at present. A 5-month-old intact male domestic shorthair cat (1.85 kg) exhibited respiratory distress, pleural effusion and ascites. Clinical examination revealed a grade 4/6 systolic murmur, jugular vein distension and 7% dehydration. Despite negative antigen and antibody tests for heartworm, echocardiography revealed hyperechoic structures in the right atrium consistent with Dirofilaria immitis, alongside pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure. A 10-cm-long immature female heartworm was surgically removed through jugular venotomy using a basket device under fluoroscopic guidance. Postoperatively, the cat developed persistent pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid regurgitation and refractory hypotension, leading to death on day five. Necropsy confirmed no residual heartworms and showed eosinophilic arteritis, pulmonary oedema, alveolar histiocytosis and thrombus formation, all of which are consistent with heartworm-associated pulmonary vascular disease. Although basket device-assisted removal is feasible, existing vascular damage and postoperative complications significantly affect prognosis. This case report describes a patient managed for clinical diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. All procedures were performed as part of standard veterinary clinical care, and informed consent for publication was obtained from the rescuer. Since this report did not involve experimental interventions, approval from an institutional animal ethics committee was unnecessary.

Keywords: Dirofilaria immitis; feline heartworm disease; heartworm-associated respiratory disease; surgical removal

Received: November 3, 2025; Revised: April 28, 2026; Accepted: April 28, 2026; Prepublished online: October 5, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026  Show citation