Tuffy cherry eye followup question


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kimrisa avatar image

Tuffy cherry eye followup question

Good afternoon! I took Tuffy to see the canine eye specialist today and, as expected, she highly advocates the tacking procedure. She says that with bulldogs there is a 50-70% chance that it'll pop out again but she wouldn't charge to retack it--just the charge for the anesthesia, medication etc. if it doesn't take. I mentioned the option of just snipping it but she says she strongly opposes that because of the risk of dry eye and potential blindness. I have to speak to my regular vet tomorrow about this but the blindness side effect of snipping kind of threw me for a loop.Has anyone on this board who has had cherry eye snipped (or know someone who had this done) had any incidents of blindness? My breeder warned me that seeing an eye doctor might end up scaring me and I guess she was right... I'm still leaning toward snipping because of the long recovery process that a surgery might entail, risk of surgery and the odds that this would have to be done again.

Any additional insight would be most welcome!

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

thunderstruckbulldog's picture

origionally was used as a preventative but now

with both eyes affected we use it to treat dry eye and hopefully keep it from getting worse.

Laura
Thunderstruck Bulldogs
http://sitekreator.com/thunderstruckbulldog/index.html

To those who understand no explanation is needed. To those who don't no explanation is possible.

judy wilson's picture

swelling with charlie....

i cant really tell as charlie had to have hair lasered from his eyelids both eyes and he had to d have entropian surgery both eyes and of course the cherry eye was all done at once...
my vet said not to worry about dry eye till he was five or six...and i would see the signs.....charlie also has weak corneas and needs to have them checked for ulcers every 6 months...
so i feel we'll catch that at the start....
good luck with the procedure...let us all know when he goes under and we'll all say a prayer...

Alicia Jay Deuce and Oliver's picture

To answer your question below about any measures for prevention.

Our vet was actually at an opthamology conference the week before we were in there to get Oliver's first one snipped. I had asked him about the correlation between dry eye and snipping out the gland, he said there is actually no proven correlation between the two. So no, we don't do any sort of preventative measures nor did he ask us to. I think dry eye is just something that can happen just like anything else.

Alicia Jay Deuce and Oliver's picture

We never experienced any swelling......

Or at least any that I could tell.

kimrisa's picture

Thanks!

I know it's a tough decision! I spoke with the vet, who has done over 300 of these snipping procedures and he says he's never heard of blindness. He thinks the specailist was referring to potential cataracts that could result if severe dry eye occurs and he says those can be removed in the worst case scenario. In all his 25 years of practice he's never seen permanent blindness from snipping.It was probably a scare tactic. And he says there are many tests and precautions you can take to prevent dry eye and if it occurs there are medications and drops you can take. So the decision is made...snipping. Thanks everyone for all your input. It wasn't an easy decison but after all the feedback and all the research I've done I feel that this is the best option for us. He doesn't use a local for the snipping though--he uses a mild sedative (no gas) for the snipping procedure like what's used for broken limbs but he says it won't pose a danger to the dog. He did say the eye may look a little swollen for a couple of weeks after the procedure and then it'll go back to normal. Is that what those of you who had the snipping experienced?

Thanks again everyone for sharing your stories!


Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

kimrisa's picture

Re: I have always snipped.. so far so good.

Glad to hear it! I love your profile collage. Your pups are adorable and your family is beautiful!!

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

judy wilson's picture

blindness??

what would cause blindness by having it snipped? i snipped it out because i did not want to go back under....i never heard of it causing blindness....
you have to decide for yourself....its great your getting all the input from us....but the decision which is not easy becasue i think its a 50/50 split on tacking vs snipping...ends up being what you are comfortable with....

kimrisa's picture

Re: Good luck to Mr. Tuffy

Thanks, Monica! I'll definitely keep everyone posted...

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

Monica-Maude-Gus's picture

Good luck to Mr. Tuffy

He is one gorgeous baby! Be sure to let us know how he does...

kimrisa's picture

Re: We did the snip for Maude

Glad to hear that Maude is doing well. I know the blindness thing was just a scare tactic! We are going for the snipping next Thursday...

Thanks for the support!

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

kimrisa's picture

Re: swelling with charlie....

Thanks for the support, Judy! Sounds like you've been through all this and more with Charlie and made it through fine. I'm sure Tuffy will do fine with the mild sedative but I'll take the prayers!! I will keep the group posted after the snip procedure next Thursay.

Thanks again and hope Charlie continues to do well!

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

kimrisa's picture

Re: To answer your question below about any measures for prevent

Thanks for the info!! This is very reassuring.

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

Monica-Maude-Gus's picture

We did the snip for Maude

She has been fine - no dry eye and no blindness - she can spot a cookie a mile away!

Good luck with Tuffy, no matter which method you choose.

cherishedbullies's picture

I have always snipped.. so far so good.

.

[IMG][linked image][/IMG]

kimrisa's picture

Thanks, Sue!

So glad your pups are doing okay! I also thought it was a scare tactic! My breeder warned me about that....Did you have your regular bulldog vet do the snipping procedure? Our vet says he's been doing it for 25 years. The eye specialist refuses to do a snipping procedure.

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

kimrisa's picture

Re: I always tack first........

Thanks for sharing your story. It seems like it's pretty evenly split...some are for tacking, others are for snipping. Do you use the drops for the preexisting dry eye condition or as a precaution to avoid problems since you had the cherry eye snipped?

Tuffy's Mama
[linked image]

It's a scare tactic....

I have NEVER heard of a bulldog going blind by having the gland snipped out.

My Olivia had both eyes done, gland snipped, almost 4 years ago and her eyes are beautiful.

Sue

thunderstruckbulldog's picture

I always tack first........

I always give it a chance for tacking due to the dry eye issue especially if puppy or younger dog. I have one girl with dry eyes that popped a cherry eye at 3 yrs old and 6 yrs old that we had snipped per my vets recommendation. She gets RX eye drops twice a day and does pretty good. She will be on drops the rest of her life but its not bad. I have heard snipping can cause dry eye and blindness but I have seen several on this board had their dogs snipped and the dog is fine......so alot of it depends on the dog and you I think. Good luck with whichever you decide.
L

Laura
Thunderstruck Bulldogs
http://sitekreator.com/thunderstruckbulldog/index.html

To those who understand no explanation is needed. To those who don't no explanation is possible.

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