Case of the month Charlie is a 30 year old grey gelding who enjoys his retirement at a property near Maryborough. Last month his owner called Dr Tatum Watson because he had noticed Charlie’s left eye was looking cloudy and he was keeping it closed. When Dr Tatum examined the eye she found a pink mass on the horse’s eye and prescribed eye ointment hoping the treatment would help Charlie. But no improvement was seen after several days which confirmed Dr Tatum’s suspicion that the mass on the eye could be cancerous. After discussing all options with Charlie’s owner it was decided to remove Charlie’s eye to relieve his pain and stop the mass from spreading to the surrounding tissue. Because of his age Dr Tatum decided to use heavy sedation and local anaesthesia instead of a general anaesthetic for the surgery. After initial sedation Charlie was connected to intravenous fluids and his head was rested on a wheelie bin covered with clean towels. The nerves and tissues around the eye were injected with a local anaesthetic so Charlie wouldn’t be able to feel any pain during surgery and the surgical area was clipped and cleaned to make it sterile and prevent bacterial contamination. Dr Tatum then removed the eye and closed the wound with sutures. A bandage was placed to protect the wound and Charlie started a course of prophylactic antibiotics and pain relief. We will update you soon with a report of Charlie’s progress after surgery. Any eye problem should always be taken seriously and examined by your vet as soon as possible. Cancerous growths on or around horses eyes are not uncommon. Particularly horses with white faces and pink skin are prone to tumours due to sun exposure. Early treatment can often prevent spread of the mass but sometimes removal of the eye is the best long term option. Horses as well as other animal generally adjust very well to living with just one eye and are often a lot more comfortable then before the surgery.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:28:55 +0000
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