How long until my golden retriever recovers from eye removal surgery?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Lily! I would expect a dog to be much better pain wise with in 3-5 days. As for back to normal, that depends. If Lily did see some light (hard for us to ever know) it could take her weeks to months to feel normal. I had a dog once who we thought was completely blind have both eyes removed and he was depressed for months. I think he saw more than we knew. If she is comfortable, eating, etc then give her time to adjust to a complete life of darkness. I wish you the best

Since Molly is an older dog, I would not wait long to have the eye removed, as anesthesia presents more risk, the older the dog gets. That said, uveitis is painful and this would be the main reason to remove the eye. Of course, once the eye is removed, it cannot hurt anymore. Not knowing how far advanced the disease is, it is hard to give you advice on when to do the surgery. I would say, it is definitely time when her eye hurts. Discuss this with your vet who has all the details of her case and can assess the situation better than we can from far away.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Lily! Removing a few lumps isn't the same as removing the eyes. She could be more painful than you think or is reacting to the pain medication or the antibiotic. I would start to worry 3 days after surgery. Give her time. It's barely been 24 hours after this major surgery. And even if we though she was 100% blind before she may have seen some light and now her world is dark. I have seen dogs we thought were blind have both eyes removed and they were depressed for a while. I wish you and Lily the best!

The serious pain is gone now, and she is feeling good. There likely is still some wound pain and of course, she cannot see on that side. So she still has to adjust her vision. This is likely why she is irritated when you get near the area. Best leave her alone and let her adjust, eventually this will be no problem. And, btw, the incision looks excellent.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m so sorry this happened to Nemi! I would say it’s not unreasonable for 4 days post-op but the swelling should be going down rapidly at this point. If it’s not improved by tomorrow, I’d pop in to see the vet who did the surgery to make sure there is not a complication such as seroma or hematoma (fluids or blood pocket). In the mean time, I recommend warm packing for 5-10 minutes 3-4 times daily. To do this, soak a wash cloth in warm water, wring it out, and put it in a plastic bag. Apply gently to the surgery site. Seepage of some clearish fluids may happen and this is just fine. Best wishes to you and Nemi!

Some discharge is going to be normal because the surgery is associated with alot of swelling of the eyelids, and swelling can cause the eyes to produce more tears. Tears mixed with the ointment is going to look a little mucous-like. If the other dog is not going to lick her eyes or try to get her to play wildly, then yes it can be around her. If she is really squinting badly tomorrow, or if you see the corneas starting to look blue or cloudy, you need to take her in for a recheck right away. If sh'es eating fine, don't worry about the water--she will drink when she's thirsty.

Depending on what part of the ear is being removed will largely determine the recovery time. If just the pinna (the outer external portion) is being remove, while this can be a blood procedure Joey will likely be discharged from the hospital the same day. If your vet is performing a full ear ablation and removal of the ear canal, this is a much more involved procedure that will likely require 1-2 days of hospitalization post operatively. One of the major concerns of this procedure include nerve damage that can result in difficulty with balance as well as paralysis of the certain parts of the face. This can result in some difficulty eating, nausea, and drooping of the cheeks / lips. Joey will have to wear an e-collar for at least a week after the procedure in order to prevent the sutures or staples from being ripped out. He will likely be provided with pain medication, anti inflammatory meds, antibiotics, and possibly anti nasuea / motion sickness medication. In general, dogs recover from surgical procedures much more quickly than do people. Joey will probably be back to her normal self within a few days (in terms of energy level) of the procedure assuming there are not significant complications with the procedure.