Another great update from one of our referral clients : On 19th December you diagnosed keratitis in Paddys eye and consequently we agreed to the eye being removed; the operation was carried out that afternoon and the stitches were removed on 31st December. Thank you for the time and care you took in examining Paddy, in explaining the options to us for the success of the operation. On removing the stitches, our vet was very satisfied with the way the wound had healed and this has been confirmed by the ponys overall attitude which, although he is still getting accustomed to one-sided vision, is very much perkier than before. He will have his driving harness and blinkered bridle on today for the first time since the operation and I shall long-rein him for a few days until I’m satisfied that he’s comfortable with his new condition and sense of spatial awareness, then he’ll be put to his carriage. Both my wife and I were impressed by the atmosphere of efficiency at the hospital from the joining instructions sent beforehand, to the welcome and the overall sense of caring...all thoroughly professional and thus, reassuring. Thank you again, from both of us and on behalf of Paddy. Margaret and Colin Pawson Shelton Farm Carriage Driving Centre A note on eye conditions/enucleations, written by Liphook Equine Hospital veterinary surgeon Russell Parker: Thankfully the treatment of eye conditions is usually successful but sometimes the severity of the disease or financial constraints necessitate removal of the eye (enucleation). Traditionally this procedure was performed under general anaesthesia but more recently the use of sedation and local anaesthetic techniques now allows the majority of enucleations to be performed standing. Following removal the closed eyelids gradually sink into the socket leaving a cavity which some owners take time to get used to; in some cases a sterile ball can be inserted into the socket at the time of enucleation to prevent this. So how do horses cope with one eye? The answer is surprisingly well and in many cases removal of a painful eye brings rapid relief to the patient. The loss of vision in the affected eye does require some adjustment on the part of both the horse and owner but in many cases sight has been lost from the eye prior to enucleation and the horse is already used to monocular vision. Furthermore the majority of horses show no change in athletic performance and loss of an eye does not prevent horses from competing in most areas of competition, apart from polo where one-eyed horses are banned from playing for safety reasons. So while we hope its not required, enucleation is an important treatment option for severe ocular disease and owners should be reassured that it is well tolerated.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 10:23:06 +0000
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