Tweet
Hi Anne-Marie,
We had extensive experience with corneal ulcers that refused to heal with Chris. He got the first one I think before he was diagnosed with diabetes and had several while he was diabetic. So that was between 2004 and 2008.
Originally we worked with the GP vet, who kept debriding the ulcer - that's where they go over the cornea with a swab. That wasn't working so eventually they sent us to an ophthalmologist. Since that was our first experience with them, we didn't know any better. Now I wish they would have sent us to the ophthalmologist immediately after the ulcer didn't quickly heal.
Chris never had the plasma treatment - I think it may have become popular after his experiences. There's a PDF document here that describes the procedure:
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/op...atedUlcers.pdf
His ophthalmologist was not a fan of debridement. His feeling was you try it once and it the ulcer doesn't heal up right away, more serious steps are needed.
What worked for Chris was keratotomies - his first one was a grid keratotomy and the rest were punctate - in both cases interrupting the surface of the cornea with either a grid of scratches or minute needle punctures helps the corneal cells cement better in dogs who have trouble healing an ulcer. Sounds like it would make it worse, not better huh?
These were done very quickly in-house with no general sedation or anesthesia, just anesthesia of the eye itself, in about 15 or 20 minutes during an office visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_ulcers_in_animals
There used to be a really great description of treatment of uncooperative ulcers available online. So far, I haven't been able to find it. There is a bit about the procedure here:
http://www.animaleyeclinic.ca/eyeinf...nt%20Ulcer.htm
In Chris' case, one ulcer was very slow to heal. The cells would fill in but wouldn't be properly cemented so they would slough off easily. It wasn't until the ophthalmologist did a punctate keratotomy over pretty much the entire cornea that it healed up, and it healed up fast at that point. He had a condition where his corneal cells tended not to cement properly. Common in boxers, which may have been a part of his genetic grab bag.
Natalie
We had extensive experience with corneal ulcers that refused to heal with Chris. He got the first one I think before he was diagnosed with diabetes and had several while he was diabetic. So that was between 2004 and 2008.
Originally we worked with the GP vet, who kept debriding the ulcer - that's where they go over the cornea with a swab. That wasn't working so eventually they sent us to an ophthalmologist. Since that was our first experience with them, we didn't know any better. Now I wish they would have sent us to the ophthalmologist immediately after the ulcer didn't quickly heal.
Chris never had the plasma treatment - I think it may have become popular after his experiences. There's a PDF document here that describes the procedure:
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/op...atedUlcers.pdf
His ophthalmologist was not a fan of debridement. His feeling was you try it once and it the ulcer doesn't heal up right away, more serious steps are needed.
What worked for Chris was keratotomies - his first one was a grid keratotomy and the rest were punctate - in both cases interrupting the surface of the cornea with either a grid of scratches or minute needle punctures helps the corneal cells cement better in dogs who have trouble healing an ulcer. Sounds like it would make it worse, not better huh?
These were done very quickly in-house with no general sedation or anesthesia, just anesthesia of the eye itself, in about 15 or 20 minutes during an office visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_ulcers_in_animals
There used to be a really great description of treatment of uncooperative ulcers available online. So far, I haven't been able to find it. There is a bit about the procedure here:
http://www.animaleyeclinic.ca/eyeinf...nt%20Ulcer.htm
In Chris' case, one ulcer was very slow to heal. The cells would fill in but wouldn't be properly cemented so they would slough off easily. It wasn't until the ophthalmologist did a punctate keratotomy over pretty much the entire cornea that it healed up, and it healed up fast at that point. He had a condition where his corneal cells tended not to cement properly. Common in boxers, which may have been a part of his genetic grab bag.
Natalie