Widget's Eye

Dr. Bostwick called today to say Widget's bloodwork looked great, which ruled out other possible explanations for the odd episodes we've seen in her recently.  So this morning I talked with Dr. Brenda Culver, our primary care vet in Helena who's also our go-to person for eye issues, about Dr. Bostwick's evaluation of Widget.  I told Brenda we discovered that the pressure in her glaucoma eye had zoomed to 60 units of mercury.  (High end of normal is 20.) 

Brenda immediately connected the elevated pressure to the behavior changes as a potential explanation.  She said our veterinary ophthalmologist in Spokane, Dr. Bill Yakely, has seen cases of otherwise mysterious behavior changes in dogs finally be explained by pressure spikes in their eyes.  Bringing the pressure under control, either medically or by removing the eye, made the odd behavior disappear.  That means the only way we will be able to determine this is after the fact.

Unfortunately, given the three-times normal pressure in Widget's eye, Brenda did not think we could bring it down with medication.  She had cautioned us over the years that we could eventually lose control of the pressure in her eye, and this is what happened.  So she recommended we pursue surgery to bring relief to Widget. 

The good news here is that we have an alternative to just removing the eye.  Because the globe of her eye -- the white part that holds everything -- is still healthy, we can actually take out the inner eye with the lens, cornea, iris, and all the built-up fluid that's causing the pressure, and surgically implant a prosthesis inside the globe.  This is not a glass eye as you'd commonly think of it, because the outer eye will still be there and alive and attached to ocular muscles.  What's inside the eye will be 'fake.'  This is purely cosmetic and won't matter a bit to Widget, but for all of us who adore her bug-eyed little face, we'd sure like to keep that eye in if we can.

There is a chance her body will reject the prosthesis as a foreign object ... it can take up to 6 weeks or more before we'll know if it will be rejected ... and she'll need daily medications to reduce the chances of rejection.  But we did this on our blind sled dog Dusty two years ago, and it worked perfectly.  If you look at him today, you can't tell his remaining eye isn't 'real.'  Thus we know what's involved and what the risks are.

Brenda ordered the prosthesis this afternoon, and if it arrives by Monday, she'll do the surgery that afternoon.  If not, then surgery will be Tuesday.

(If you're wondering why this wasn't an option for Luke, it's because his entire eye was chronically infected.  With glaucoma, the pressure is internal, leaving the exterior of the eye -- the globe -- healthy and intact.)

The first photo of Widget was from Dr. Bostwick's exam room yesterday.  The second photo I took a few minutes ago, as I was writing this at 9:30 p.m.  Widget is sound asleep on the bed in my office, oblivious to what I'm posting about her.

(Click on photos for larger image.)

Comments

[ginger]

We hope all goes well for Widget.