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Question on cataract surgery
Hi all,
I have a 15-year old wire-hair dachshund -- Max. He's healthy, in great shape and active for his age. Over the past couple of years he has developed cataracts in both eyes. In addition, one of his eyes recently became inflamed and irritated. My regular vet gave me some eye drops that did not clear up the redness, and Max definitely cannot see out of this eye. He seems to be able to see minimally out of his other eye which is not inflamed, but which has gotten more opaque in the past few months. I recently had the chance to consult with an out-of-town canine eye specialist. He advised me that the inflamed eye is not operable because of another, unrelated condition. He gave me several different eye drops which have cleared up this eye and relived Max's obvious discomfort. The other eye, however, is operable for cataracts. The eye specialist feels Max is healthy enough for the procedure. I have weighed the various pros and cons: the cost, Max's age, and the 15% failure rate. I would like to give the operation a chance. Max is a happy guy and I know blind dogs can do just fine. Nevertheless, I am beginning to see some frustration on his part -- he can't play with the other dogs like he used to or chase his ball. Yes, he could live with blindness, but if I can help to restore his sight, then why not? But I wonder if I am leaving anything out of the equation e.g. the risk of general anesthesia. Any and all comments, heads up or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. Hundefreund, Max, Penny, Freddy and Sam |
#2
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Question on cataract surgery
Thanks -- I'll check that out. Apparently, the clinic is big, but it's
a couple of hours away and I've never been there. "DK" wrote in message : In article , "Hundefreund" wrote: Hi all, I have a 15-year old wire-hair dachshund -- Max. He's healthy, in great shape and active for his age. Over the past couple of years he has developed cataracts in both eyes. In addition, one of his eyes recently became inflamed and irritated. My regular vet gave me some eye drops that did not clear up the redness, and Max definitely cannot see out of this eye. He seems to be able to see minimally out of his other eye which is not inflamed, but which has gotten more opaque in the past few months. I recently had the chance to consult with an out-of-town canine eye specialist. He advised me that the inflamed eye is not operable because of another, unrelated condition. He gave me several different eye drops which have cleared up this eye and relived Max's obvious discomfort. The other eye, however, is operable for cataracts. The eye specialist feels Max is healthy enough for the procedure. I have weighed the various pros and cons: the cost, Max's age, and the 15% failure rate. I would like to give the operation a chance. Max is a happy guy and I know blind dogs can do just fine. Nevertheless, I am beginning to see some frustration on his part -- he can't play with the other dogs like he used to or chase his ball. Yes, he could live with blindness, but if I can help to restore his sight, then why not? But I wonder if I am leaving anything out of the equation e.g. the risk of general anesthesia. Any and all comments, heads up or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. If the pre-op tests show nothing that makes general anesthesia particularly more dangerous and if the place where operation would be performed has anesthesiologist assisting every operation, I would go ahead if I were you. DK |
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Question on cataract surgery
I have a 15 yr old poodle that is actually a candidate for cataract
surgery. I just don't have that much disposable income. They use the same equipment on the animals that they do humans. Where i live it is $2900-3100 I'm not sure if that is for one or both. He also has dry eyes that i've had to treat the last few years. I have a 15-year old wire-hair dachshund -- Max. He's healthy, in great shape and active for his age. Over the past couple of years he has developed cataracts in both eyes. In addition, one of his eyes recently became inflamed and irritated. My regular vet gave me some eye drops that did not clear up the redness, and Max definitely cannot see out of this eye. He seems to be able to see minimally out of his other eye which is not inflamed, but which has gotten more opaque in the past few months. I recently had the chance to consult with an out-of-town canine eye specialist. He advised me that the inflamed eye is not operable because of another, unrelated condition. He gave me several different eye drops which have cleared up this eye and relived Max's obvious discomfort. The other eye, however, is operable for cataracts. The eye specialist feels Max is healthy enough for the procedure. I have weighed the various pros and cons: the cost, Max's age, and the 15% failure rate. I would like to give the operation a chance. Max is a happy guy and I know blind dogs can do just fine. Nevertheless, I am beginning to see some frustration on his part -- he can't play with the other dogs like he |
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