My Golden Retriever has uveitis. When is it time for eye removal?

First off, I'm sorry Molly had her eye removed, but I'm sure it will make her feel much better to have it removed. Most animals will be back to their normal selves within 5 days, and because the removed eye would have been a constant source of pain, many dogs are happier within 24 hours after surgery.

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!

That's a good question. I would recommend making her adoption contingent on an exam and consultation with an oncologist (at your cost) to get this question adequately answered. Based on my knowledge, it's important to find an underlying cause for the uveitis and that process can be expensive, and then whatever is causing it could be expensive. It definitely not a no-big-deal thing. But if you're interested in her, and could afford it, getting her a specialist consultation would be wonderful

I sympathize with you. Painful eyes are very difficult to deal with. The answer to your question depends on if the reason for the problem is that the antibiotics aren't working because of the type of bacteria or the underlying disease. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know that information. I think your best option would be to see a specialist. Veterinary ophthalmologists have 4 years of specialized training in treating only eyes, so they have a much greater knowledge of eyes than normal vets. I actually took my 15 year old dog to a veterinary ophthalmologist last month because I want to avoid removing one of his eyes. She used medication that I have never used in my practice in 15 years and my dog is doing great now. I have included a link below for you to search for a veterinary ophthalmologist near you. http://member.acvo.org/search_results Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I'm sorry to hear that Danny has glaucoma! If the ophthalmologist is recommending removing the eye, I'm assuming that Danny is already blind in the affected eye. If this is the case, then I'm afraid there really aren't any better options - there is no treatment that can reverse the blindness, and the eye is a constant source of pain for him. Removing it will improve his quality of life dramatically, since he'll no longer be in pain. If he does still have some vision in the affected eye, then you can certainly ask the ophthalmologist to discuss other possible treatment options with you. Glaucoma can sometimes be medically managed for a while with prescription eye drops, although this will eventually stop working as the disease progresses. Some dogs may also be good candidates for laser surgery to help improve the glaucoma - you can certainly ask the ophthalmologist about this to see if it might be an option for Danny, if you haven't discussed it already.

Old age is not a disease. And the eye itself sounds like it will need to be operated on either now or later. You should try to save the eye. If the eye does rupture Bruno will still need an operation to remove the eye due to intense pain and discomfort. So this is definitely the better of two options in my professional opinion. Also you should know that every Venerian does pre-op bloodwork to make sure there is no organ malfunction that needs special care during surgery. With every surgery there is a risk, but most veterinarians are equipped to handle any issues that may arise while the pet is under general anesthesia. I hope Bruno gets well soon!

Yes the eye could be painful. Most dogs do great after eye removal and he may become perkier afterwards. You are the one that sees him everyday and are the best one to evaluate his quality of life. Personally if he’s eating and getting around I’d do the surgery so he’s more comfortable. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Jingles.