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Why are my dog's eye ulcers bigger after cotton swab debridement?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Male | neutered | 7 years and 10 months old | 120 lbs

My dog had cotton swab debriment of eye ulcers 3 days ago,now they are 3times bigger than before.Is it normal?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 2nd, 2017

Hello. Cotton swab debridement of ulcers is a treatment for indolent (non-healing) ulcers. This is successful about 50% of the time, and often requires a second debridement. Also, when you are debriding an ulcer, by the nature of the procedure and the injury to the eye, the ulcer becomes bigger after the debridement. If the ulcers are bigger today than right after the debridement occurred than I would recommend having Lennox back to the vet right away. If Lennox is squinting or holding his eye closed I would also have him back to the vet right away, or if it looks like anything is coming out of the eye-ball itself. It may be normal however it may be a very serious concern, so I would have Lennox checked by your vet just to make sure, and especially if he is showing any concerns (squinting, lethargic, not eating, holding eye closed, etc.).

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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