My German Shepherd has pannus. Is treatment expensive and what is it?

Hello, and thanks for your question. Pannus is typically a bilateral condition (although symptoms can be worse in one eye), and once diagnosed, treatment is for life to minimize the recurrence of further symptoms. I would recommend continuing treatment in both eyes indefinitely unless your vet is directing otherwise. Hope this helps!

These are good treatments for pannus and it definitely looks like Sora is afflicted with this condition. Unfortunately, pannus is quite difficult to treat and the eyedrops and sunglasses will help to keep it from getting worse, but may not help it get much better. I have seen a few dogs that responded very well to treatment though and had significant improvement. I would not expect it to ever be completely normal again unless surgery was done to remove the black part. Below is a link to an article that has some more helpful information about this condition. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/pannus-in-dogs I hope that helps and all is well with Sora.

Eyes are so hard to take pictures of. However, Pannus is a common eye problem in the German Shepherd. It causes a significant change to the cornea. Usually is starts on the outside corner and works it’s way in. Sometimes it is dark brown pigment and sometimes it is more like blood vessels or white. I am suspicious that this may be what is causing the problem with Krystal. I would highly encourage you to seek a second opinion or go see a veterinary ophthalmologist. Pannus can be very aggressive, and usually needs lifelong medications to keep it in control. Of course this is just my suspicion and there are many other problems than can cause cloudiness and redness in the eyes. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

The good news about pannus is that it's not painful, but as you've unfortunately discovered, they can lose significant vision, and most of the time the loss is irreversible. Using prednisolone acetate eye drops will hopefully help to keep it from progressing, but there's unfortunately no surgical cure for the disease. Protecting the eyes when outside with Doggles (dog goggles) will help as well. You might consider referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist to discuss the disease indepth.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Short answer, No. We should avoid breeding any potentially congenital conditions. Since there is a lot we don't know about auto-immune disorders, and how they are related to one another, we ideally would not be breeding any dogs with any form of auto-immune diseases. Best of luck with Max!

Hi there. I'm afraid it really depends a lot on the details of the case, and how severe his symptoms are. Environmental allergies can range from mild seasonal issues that may be easily managed with short courses of antihistamines and/or steroids as needed, to severe problems that may require allergy testing and immunotherapy treatment, daily long-term medication (which can be expensive in a large-breed dog), and/or even referral to a dermatologist to get a handle on. So if this is a concern for you, I would suggest getting some additional information from the shelter on how severe the issue is, what kind of treatment he is currently on to manage it, and how well he has responded. This should give you a better idea of what to expect going forward, if you decide to proceed with the adoption.

I think a full ocular exam would give you more information on whether one or both eyes need to come out. The small eye may be congenital or may have already ruptured and may not be painful any longer. The larger eye could be large just because it looks bigger as compared to the small eye or could have glaucoma. KCS can easily be diagnosed with a vet, but will likely need life-long medications to manage, and these can be expensive depending on the medication and formulation used. Many dogs with severe KCS have their eyes enucleated and become much more comfortable. My impression from reading her file is that she has very painful eyes, and that this is a chronic pain. Bilateral enucleation would easily resolve this pain and may improve her quality of life drastically. The cost for this surgery can vary depending on the vet clinic chosen, you may call around and ask for rough quotes for bilateral enucleation. It could range from $700 to $1500 or more. I would recommend that she have both eyes done at the same time (if the vet performing the ocular exam thinks they are both defective eyes) as this will decrease total time under anesthesia and make Lia only have to recover from a painful procedure once. If both eyes are removed, then she may not need significant medical care or follow-ups (cost-wise) after she is fully recovered. Her file tells me that she may be a great one to rescue if your group can cover the costs of surgery. I admire the work you do and appreciate your compassion more than you will ever know!