UF faculty member provides first-ever dialysis on dog in Chile

Blanca, a mixed breed dog that Dr. Leo Londono performed dialysis on in Chile on June 30, the first time that procedure had been performed in that country. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Leo Londono)

Dr. Leo Londoño, a clinical assistant professor and small animal emergency and critical care specialist at UF’s Small Animal Hospital, recently performed the first-ever dialysis treatment on a dog in Chile. The dog, Blanca, was discharged from the veterinary hospital in mid-July and is doing well.

“Being the first Diplomate in the Veterinary College of Emergency and Critical Care that is from a Latino family and speaks Spanish fluently has opened the door for me being invited to many conferences in South America, where I share my expertise,” said Londoño, who also directs the hospital’s hemodialysis unit.

During one such meeting last year in Argentina, Londoño met Cesar Villalta, owner of Veterinary Emergency Total Service, or VETS, in Santiago, Chile.

“He told me one of his dreams was to bring dialysis to Chile,” Londoño said. “So since last November, we have been planning my visit to Chile, and more specifically, to his hospital.”

In late June, that visit came to fruition when Londoño made the trip to speak to a small group of veterinarians who had indicated their interest in nephrology, or kidney disease.

Dr. Leo Londoño speaks to a group of Chilean veterinarians in June 2018. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Leo Londoño)

“We did three days of lectures on kidney disease and dialysis, with each lecture being followed by a training session, two of which were on a patient,” he said.

That patient, Blanca, is an 11-year-old female mixed breed dog that had been previously healthy but for five days lost interest in food and became lethargic. She was taken to a local veterinary clinic in Santiago, where she was diagnosed with acute kidney injury.

Villalta, the owner of VETS, had sent out an email and a Facebook message to all veterinary hospitals in Chile, offering free dialysis to a patient that met certain criteria. Blanca was referred to VETS for the procedure that Londono performed.

Dr. Leo Londoño provides dialysis on Blanca, an 11-year-old mixed breed dog, in Chile on June 30. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Leo Londoño.

Villalta relayed that one of his dreams was to bring dialysis to Chile, which led to more communication between the two doctors. A trip in the planning since last fall came to fruition when Londoño visited Villalta’s clinic in late June to provide three days of lectures to a small group of veterinarians interested in nephrology. Each day of lectures was followed by training sessions, two of which involved a patient, Blanca, an 11-year-old mixed breed female who had been diagnosed with acute kidney injury.

“So the veterinarians who were present were not only able to participate in my lectures, but also to witness the first dialysis treatment of a dog in Chile,” Londoño said.