Pippin has Glaucoma & a Lump

Well, November hasn't been good to Pippin. We have been to his regular vet and his eye vet.

The lump I found in Pippin's jowl has been analyzed and it is a fatty mass. Not cancer. He is on Baytril and I am supposed to see if it reduces or not. If not, then back to the vet.

Pippin has lost the sight in his left eye from Glaucoma. After his Cataract Surgery in 2006, he had semi-annual check-ups and unfortunately, that wasn't enough. It has already progressed to the point it can't be turned around. I have decided have surgery on his eye Nov. 18th to put in a fake eye.

To save the sight in the right eye, we'll now do 4 month check-ups and eye drops.

Pip is such a trooper and has come through cataract surgery on both eyes, patella surgery on one leg and now this. Wish Pippin luck!

Bless his little heart. He has had more than his share of bad luck.

Good luck on the 18th. I hope it all goes well.

I just adore Pippin!!

I am sorry that he is having all these health issues. I hope that all goes well on the 18th. I will be thinking of you! :hug:

What a lot to have to cope with! Good luck Pippin - I hope all goes well.:hug:

So sorry to hear this - you are having a horrid year

Hope all goes well on 18th

Oh bless him, he's gorgeous. Poor fellow and poor you, I do feel for you both, what a lot to have been through. How old is Pippin?

I've never heard of a dog having a fake eye, can you tell us more please?

Our thought and prayers are with fabulous Pippin.

Pippin turned 7 years old on Aug. 31st.

The notes from the Ophthalmologist Vet say the surgical procedure is called Intrascleral Prosthesis.

The inside tissues & fluid of the eyeball are removed, and a ball-like prosthesis is placed inside to keep the normal shape of the eyeball. Therefore, the entire outer part of the eyeball is his real eyeball, just the inside has changed. Because the muscles & eyelids are left intact, the eyeball can move & the lids can blink normally. Pippin would look like he still has an eye, but it may be a different color (light to dark gray).

Here are the two types of prosthetics that can be used when an eye is removed, but it is not necessary to use either; it's a matter of owner preference.

http://www.vetinfo.com/prosthetic-eye-for-dogs.html

I had a Cavalier that had a bilateral enucleation (both eyes removed) as a result of glaucoma in 2005. He had juvenile cataracts as a young dog, and when I adopted him when he was age 7, he was diagnosed with glaucoma during a routine eye exam. (This is often a complication of juvenile cataracts whether they have surgery or not.) Darby's glaucoma was treated with expensive eye drops for a couple of years, but generally the drops will stop working after a period of time. Darby gradually became almost totally blind, and of course glaucoma is very painful. He also kept developing corneal ulcers in one eye because he would rub his eyes because of the pain. When he was 13, I decided the best thing was to remove the eyes, but the ophthalmologist was afraid to do the surgery because of his age and his MVD. After consulting with the cardiologist about anesthesia protocol, my GP vet removed both eyes. Cardio and GP vet and I decided to remove both eyes at the same time to end all of the constant problems and it was the best thing we ever did. Darby was like a new dog after about a week of recovery time - it was obvious that his pain was affecting his quality of life before the surgery. Also, having the GP vet do the surgery saved a huge amount of money - it was a fraction of what the specialist would have charged. The surgery is not difficult or dangerous - it is only tedious because the canine eye has a very rich vascular supply (more so than the human eye) so there is a lot to tie off. A GP vet can do the surgery with no problem. I elected not to do prosthetics of either kind because there is more of a risk of complications such as infection if you put in a prosthetic and I wanted to minimize the risk of complications because of his age and all that he had been through over the years with eye problems. Darby's "eyes" looked just fine in a short period of time - his fur grew back and he looked as if his eyes were closed. It was amazing that most people who saw him didn't readily notice that he had no eyes. (He was a tricolor.) We had some funny interactions - once at the vet's office a new tech said "Oh how cute, he is looking down at the floor" and I replied, "Yeah, he's looking for his missing eyes." She then said, "but how does he see with no eyes" and I made some smart-aleck reply. Duh!! Darby lived for another two years and died at age 15 and never had any more problems related to his eyes. I wish I had removed his eyes years before I did. He was also deaf but because he lost his vision gradually he adjusted very well and was very high functioning - almost never ran into anything and moved around the house and yard very confidently. He would show up at the door with the other pets when I arrived home and I'd find him sitting in the kitchen facing the counter when it was time to feed meals. Once I saw the cat herding him up the hallway by walking along one side of him and then stepping behind him and switching to the other side to keep him going in a straight line. Darby was pretty amazing.

Pat

Pat, what a wonderful and informative post. I will bookmark it for whenever there are people wondering whether to do such surgery, or to take on a blind dog.

All the best with Pippin and his surgery, Charleen -- so sorry he is at this point. :flwr:

Aww. That is such a touching story!!! Thanks for sharing it. Didn't know dogs managed so well with no eye sight. What a wonderful cat you have too, for helping him out!!!!

Thank you Pat for your story. It was extremely helpful for me and Pippin. It is so encouraging to know that he can still have a full life ahead of him, if he goes blind in his other eye.

I have been talking to a lot of experts this week and I have decided to have the eye removed and sewn up. I feel there are less long term complications. I had a friend share with me what her dog looked like and I was comfortable with how "One Eyed Jack" looked. Here is his picture.


The eye vet had said they could put a prosthetic behind the sewn up eye, so it wouldn't look sunken in. I spoke to my regular vet and he said he doesn't use a prosthetic, just sews it up. He says it doesn't sink in that much. And Jack looks good. So after reading what Pat wrote, I'll will not have the prosthetic put in behind the sewn up eye. One less future possible complication.

The surgery is this coming Thursday.

Pippin had the surgery yesterday and he did well. Here is a picture of him last night, after I picked him up from the vet's office.

Oh poor Pippin - but so pleased he came through the surgery ok and I'm sure he will be a lot more comfortable once the wound heals.

I have not heard of vets using prosthetic eyes in the UK, the dogs I have seen who have had eyes removed have looked really good, you hardly notice it once the fur grows back.

We hope that Pippin has a good recovery - thanks for updating us.

Oh poor little fellow but at least he won't be in any discomfort. He'll be happy once the stitches are out.

Pippin had his sutures out yesterday. His fur is growing back already and I don't think he'll look too bad when he has all his hair again.

He will be as beautiful as ever he was, and I think, even more precious.

Oh he's really coming along well - that's great news


Pat, I've only just seen your story about Darby - thank you for sharing that. I'm so pleased he had two more fantastic years, a truly amazing wee dog.