Services We Provide

When evaluating the animal eye as a potential cataract candidate, the veterinary ophthalmologist will evaluate the status of the cataract and associated inflammation, the position of the lens, the status of the retina and cornea and the anatomy of the iridocorneal angle and vitreous. With this information, the pros and cons of surgery are discussed in light of your particular situation.

Since the retina is necessary for vision, retinal problems most often manifest as either partial or complete visual deficit. The most common signs are bumping into walls and furniture, inability to fetch toys, and being easily startled. Sometimes visual problems are noted only in certain lighting conditions (i.e. light vs. dark or day vs night). In animals with only partial vision loss or in those that become blind in only one eye, it is much more difficult to detect a problem at home because animals can compensate extremely well.

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of vision loss in dogs and people. It is less common in cats and horses, but can occur in any species. Glaucoma is a painful disease in which the pressure inside the eye increases and causes damage to the structures responsible for vision. Elevated intraocular pressure results in the clinical signs that you may have noted at home (cloudy eye, redness, squinting). The longer the pressure in the eye is elevated, the more damage occurs to the structures in the eye responsible for vision (especially the retina and optic nerve), eventually resulting in permanent blindness.

Several eyelid abnormalities benefit from surgery. Surgery is utilized to correct inherited or acquired conformational abnormalities such as entropion, macroblepharon (excessive eyelid length), ectropion or eyelid agenesis, to remove tumors of the eyelids, or to treat distichiae and ectopic cilia. Surgery is catered to the specific eyelid issue of the patient. Treatment of entropion and ectropion depends on the cause and the age of the animal, but generally the goal is correcting the inversion or eversion to allow the eyelids to lie flat against the globe.

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca is a disease characterized by inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva (pink tissue covering the whites of the eyes and the inside of the eyelids) secondary to inadequate tear production by the tear glands. When an inadequate level of tears is present, debris and bacteria (that are normally washed away by the tears) build up and a thick mucous discharge forms. The disease is usually caused by inflammation of the lacrimal glands, but can also be caused by the toxic effect of certain drugs on the lacrimal glands or by lack of nerve innervation to the lacrimal glands.

Animals with uveitis can show a number of different signs, including blinking, squinting, watery discharge, light sensitivity, cloudiness or redness of the eye, or visual deficits. These signs can also be present in other eye diseases, such as glaucoma, corneal ulcer, etc., so it is very important for your pet to be examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist to determine the exact nature of the eye problem. A veterinary ophthalmologist will use a number of different instruments to illuminate and magnify the structures of the eye in order to make a diagnosis of uveitis.