Pet of the month for May goes to this handsome boy Dennis.
Dennis came in for an initial visit with Dr Raj as his eye was bothering him. He kept rubbing his face in the grass and was keeping his eyelid closed/winking. The vet did a thorough exam of his eye and placed a special fluorescein dye in the eyes. This is to check if there are any scratches or ulcers on the surface of the eye (cornea). In the normal eye, the dye will run smoothly off the surface of the cornea. If the cornea is damaged, the stain will stick to the damaged area and look bright green under an ultraviolet light (wood's lamp). We unfortunately noted a corneal ulcer in his right eye
Corneal ulcers can result from rubbing/traumatic abrasion, foreign bodies, eyelid anomalies or even be a complication from dry eyes (keratoconjunctivitis sicca). It causes inflammation across an area of the cornea that appears foggy or cloudy. It may also cause eye injury and scarring. Eye issues like these may cause discomfort and pain for your pet.
Dennis was sent home with some medications and came back to see the vets for weekly visits to ensure that the eye is healing well. Dr Hali recommended Dennis to go under sedation and have a procedure called a diamond burr debridement/polishing done as the eye was not healing as well as we hoped. In some cases, this procedure is necessary to aid in the healing process.
This procedure is a surgical technique used to treat some slow-healing corneal ulcers. It involves using a hand-held, battery-operated diamond burr to gently remove or smooth the affected corneal tissue, thus promoting healing. Dennis went through this procedure with no complications.
Dennis has been in for weekly visits since this procedure and is currently on the mend. His eye looks to be healing really well and we have also added an autologous eye serum in his treatment plan. We would like to extend a big thank you to his family for looking after Dennis.