/ 20 January 1999

OPEN HEARTS PERFORM SURGERY

SOME of South Africa’s top heart surgeons will this week put their skills to the test on their most unusual patient yet — a six-month-old Jack Russel puppy named Milo. Cape Town University cardiac-thoracic surgeon Johan Brink said a team of 12, “including one or two surgeons”, planned to perform open-heart surgery on the dog by the end of the week, “for the advancement of science”. Milo has a rare heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot, which also affects humans. The procedure will not cost the national health department anything as those involved are performing the operation free of charge.