Thoughts on Entropion Surgery

[CocoLeBear]

Hi All--Was at the vet recently for my chow I adopted in 1/203. The vet determined that she has entropion of the lower eyelid of one eye. I did noticed that she had been runny in that eye, and thought it could be entroprion, but she also has bad allergies, so I wasn't sure. I asked if there was corneal damage, and the vet did a test and determined there had been no damage. We are supposed to discuss options when she goes back for her non-core vaccines.

So, what should I know going in? Is surgery necessary? It's just on the bottom of one lid, there is no damage (she is approx. 3.5), and I clean her eyes every day. She also doesn't fidget or rub the eye. Should I wait and see? Proceed with surgery? If surgery, what questions should I ask? Is this a standard vet procedure or does she need a vet ophthalmologist? She was fine going under for her spay. Also, what sort of cost should I be expecting here? Should I ask how many procedures have been done? What would be acceptable? Is there more than one method for repair? I'd greatly appreciate your experience!

[maikinda]

Your vet is the best person to decide if surgery is needed. If you are still unsure you can always consult another vet. An ophthalmologist is trained to do the surgery, but I have seen many regular do an excellent job. Did your vet give you any ointment to put in her eyes? Sometimes an allergy will irritate their eyes enough to cause the lid to roll. If you take the irritation away the lid rolls back out. Spastic intropian is when irritation causes the eye to pull back in the socket and that allows the lid to roll. My ophthalmologist had me use Puralube to relieve the irritation. You could always check with your vet and see it you can try it.

Here is link for more information http://www.petplace.com/dogs/entropion- ... page1.aspx

Laura

[Rory's Dad]

I would make sure you discuss this in length with the vet. Ask all your questions, and then judge how comfortable you are with the responses.

If you trust your vet, consider the following. At 3 1/2 if there is no corneal damage, either the entropion is very minor or non-existent. Is the eye cloudy or does she shy from sunlight?

My 2 year old male has never had a goopy eye in his life. Lucky there. My 10 month old female had teary eye in her right eye up to about 6 months old. Worried about that, but allowed her to 'grow into her face'. As her muzzle developed, etc that eye completely cleared. At about 8 months her left eye started with the goop. We had her looked at, and no scratching to the eye and the lashes appeared normal. She had an infection in the eye and we treated with drops. It cleared up within 5 days, but came back a bit after the treatment stopped. Since we still had drops left we resumed and it has been fine.

As for any surgery, if needed, its pretty basic. It's pretty much an eye tuck. A staple or a stitch to pull the lid outward. Scar tissue will keep it pulled away from the eye and resolve the issue.

[Laura]

I was told by 2 vets that Chloe would need surgery so I took her to an eye specialist and was told she does not need surgery. I chose to go with the opinion of the eye specialist. I would get another opinion before having any type of surgery.

[ChowServant]

It's always good to get multiple opinions about anything serious. When our chow came to us at about 2 yrs old our vet told us he probably had entropion and referred us to the area eye specialist. This "specialist" told us that the entropion was minor and the real problem was that BooBoo's eye socket was malformed and he was totally blind in that eye. 7 years later we were referred to the clinic at the N. C. State University Veterinary Medicine school for an unrelated problem. While they had him they examined his eye, informed us that he was NOT blind, the entropion was intermittent and bad at times and that minor eyelid surgery would help both the entropion and the malformed eye socket problem. As soon as he's over his other medical problem he's having the eyelid surgery. Very frustrating that BooBoo has been going around with poor vision for 7 years when it could have been better. I guess just like with doctors for humans it's very hard to tell whether the person really knows what they're doing or not. At least at the vet med school all serious conditions are reviewed by an array of vets in training and faculty. BooBoo has been getting such good care at the NCSU vet med school for a serious pulmonary condition that I'm tempted to go there instead of my usual docs the next time I get sick. Wonder if they take Medicare?