Abscess behind the eye

Hi everyone,

Been a member a while but not much of a poster but from reading here I have found a lot of good information and everyone seems very supportive, both of which I could do with right now.

I will try and keep it brief.
Ellie 7 yr old blem rescued 6 yrs ago
KC 4 yr old tri rescued 6 weeks ago.....has grade 4 heart murmur
Daisy 8 yr old tri rescued 6 weeks ago

The rescue where I got the two tri girls had them pre booked for dental work which was done on Monday just gone.....kept in over night for observation. Went to collect them the following day and was told that KC had an eye infection due to the debri from the proceedure and was to go home with antibiotic eye cream. When they brought her out I was shocked at her condition, her eye was very red, swollen and looked painfull, but I was assured it looked worse than it was.

Home 24 hrs and KC deteriates, off food, wont drink, lethargic, temperature, I rush her back and they admit thinking it maybe infection round the heart from the tooth extraction.....bloods done, heart scan done, bloods come back clear, scan show no change but she continues to get worse. Towards the end of the day the vet informs me that her eye is now protruding excessively and he is rushing her to the eye specialist, who finds a huge abscess behind the eye which she drains but it keeps filling up. The eye specialist believes this has come from the dental procedure as she was healthy when admited. At the moment it is still touch and go whether she will survive but every day gives me more hope...her eye is stitched close and if she survives they feel she may loose the eye or be blind in it....

We have already bonded and this is very upsetting, she has already been through so much in her little life and I cant help asking myself .......why did they assume she had an eye infection? Should they not of checked more carefully whether this was a complication from the dental...Is this neglect on their part?.....Or is this an unfortunate event which could not be avoided or acted on sooner?

If anyone has any knowledge, advice or experience would love to hear from you

All I can do is wait, hope and pray she pulls through

Thanks for listening sorry it was a little long

xx

Sorry to hear you and this poor girl have been through so much in your brief time together!

I think it can be very hard for vets to know there have been complications at least initially. The fact that a specialist was needed to diagnose this indicates it must not have looked too concerning at first, but very unfortunate it got to the stage that it was at.

Infections I think would be rare but complications always can happen -- but the dental undoubtedly needed to be done, too, so I don't think anyone taking such a dog into rescue would have made different choices. Most rescues do work with very good vets who often are very dedicated to helping out with the motley array of dogs that can come through rescue! :flwr: All my vets are of this sort.

Losing an eye isn't too much bother for a dog -- it sounds worse than it actually is. She will likely be more comfortable with it gone if it needs to come out. Initially you will need to watch out for her as she will need to adjust to being blind to one side but dogs and cats both compensate very quickly to this type of thing.

Best of luck and I will be hoping she pulls through -- please keep us informed.

Hi Karlin,

Thank you for your reply, I agree that the vets who work with the rescue centre are dedicated people, many of whom go above and beyond to help the animals that come through their doors. I think I have been taken by surprise by all this and just worry about how KC is handling it all, given her poor background, but upto now she is still in there fighting and hopefully I will have a clearer picture tomorrow. She is a clever little girl and I am sure she will adapt quite quickly should she have to have the eye removed. Her specialist told me today she is definatly blind in that eye and will know tomorrow if the eye has to be removed, she did have septisemia but the antibiotics are working and she has manage to eat a little by lapping a liquid formula.

So :xfngr: that she keeps going from strength to strength

xx

My friend's 6 years blenheim lost his eye due to a fight with a husky/shepherd mix in an unsupervised home boarding situation (another story for another time). He is absolutely fine with just one eye and the empty socket filled in just fine with the ruby coloring. We joked that while it was healing she should have put a black pirate patch on.

I had a a tri boy who had to have both eyes removed due to uncontrolled glaucoma. He recovered quickly. It's funny how people who didn't know him well usually never noticed that he had no eyes, which always amazed me.

Pat

I fostered a Cavalier for the Spaniel Trust recently - Oscar - he had to have his eye removed, and coped increcibly well

They quickly adjust - as others have posted above.

I hope KC soon bounces back from this horrid experience and will be back cuddling up with you. Sending healing thoughts for KC and comforting ones for you too.

How is KC doing today?

Update on KC

Got a call from the vet who said the abscess is draining on its own and some of the swelling is going down so didnt need more surgery today, KC has been sitting up today and showing good signs. Provided she continues to along these lines it is hopeful that no more surgery will be needed and the prognosis on the eye is still uncertain. I am just so glad that she is making positive steps on her recovery.

Thank you everyone for your support and interest it has been a comfort to me

xx

KC comes home

Thought I would let you know that KC came home last night, she is wearing a head collar, so she wont paw at her eye, still has one stitch in the eye and on lots of meds and eye cream but she is home and making steady progress.

We are still unsure of the outcome with her eye and have to wait until the swelling goes down, but I am just so happy to have her home and on the mend.

xx

Glad to hear the good new I hope she continues to get better.

Oh, that's great to know she is home with you! What a relief after all you have been through with her. :xfngr: her eye does OK.

I'll keep hoping for progress. Keep us posted!

Well had another good day with KC, apart from a little worry, since coming home in the evening she was starting to pant quite hard and her breathing was laboured...her specialist was concerned because of her grade 4 murmur BUT tonight she has been breathing normal:rah:

This little girl is such a fighter and although a long way from full health is still getting stronger each day step by step.

Once her eye is better I hope to take some pictures to post her so we can be formally introduced

Thanks everyone

xx

That's really good news. Sounds like she is flourishing with you looking after her

Good to read that she's doing better!
I hope she recovers quickly now and of course waiting for the pics!
In the meantime give her some extra cuddles

Just catching up with this post...so glad KC is on the mend.

Hope she continues to recover and looking forward to pics!

Just wanted to let everyone know I have posted pictures of my girls on the photo gallery. Things are still moving along steadly with KC although her vet is a little concerned with her heart and she will get that checked again on Monday.....

Oh and she is so well behaved now she doesnt even have to wear her collar because she is not pawing at her eye.

Thanks everyone

xx

Glad to hear KC is still improving. Off to look at your pics now...