One Vet Says My Dog's Eye Needs To Come Out But Another Said It Doesn't

[joequinn]

My Shih Tzu has been having problems with her eyes for a while now. We have been regularly been taking her to the vets here in Lopburi. Today we were told that one of her eyes needs to be removed because of a coroneal ulcer. They said that she is now blind in that eye and we need to remove it or it could mean she will become blind in the other eye. I took her to another vet and he said that she does not need to have the eye removed. What do I do? Where can I get proper advice about my dog. I don't want to just go on the advice of one guy in case he is an incomepetent fcukwit; it is obvious they can't both be right. I want what is best for my dog. Any advice please.

[krading]

Get a third and fourth opinion, keep going till you hear what you want to hear. It's only an eye, unless it's a show dog what's the problem? It'll get by with one eye.

Rather one eye than dead.

[Crypt36]

Yeah I'd like to know a really good vet in Bangkok as well. They all look so nice but have they been educated? I live in Pattaya and know the dentists and hospitals here are all crap and I'm so affraid the same goes for the vets!

[mallyrd]

I have two poodles who are approaching 13 years of age and they have 5 offsprings who are also doing well. All treated by a local vet who we have used for ten years. Being in the south will not help you though.

If you love your dog then you must decide in your own heart what is best for it.

[mallyrd]

Yeah I'd like to know a really good vet in Bangkok as well. They all look so nice but have they been educated? I live in Pattaya and know the dentists and hospitals here are all crap and I'm so affraid the same goes for the vets!

Crypt36,

Putting aside the issue of vetinary services are you saying that if your life depended on it you would not want to avail yourself of any of the medical facilities in either Pattaya or Bangkok? In my 20 years here I have had one operation (cartlidge at Samitivej Sukhumvit 49 BKK) and many visits to various private hospitals from Hatyai to Phuket to Bangkok and now in Pattaya.

Yes they are overpriced and sometimes you wonder at the amount of medication given. Choices of treatment are abundant in Thailand and when the occasion arises then needs must.

[opalhort]

Contact Kasetsart University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Bangkok.

They know which Vet hospitals are good around the country.

Sorry but I could not find contact info via a quik Google, but you could start here

Contact the Bangkhen Campus!

Need to speak Thai!

opalhort

[bina]

there are different corneal ulcer problems: if noticed and treated promptly, the outcome is better but can also not succeed. the treatment being two kinds of eye drops plus sewing down the wierd second eyelid (cant remember what its called) over the eye for a fairly long time. the eye is reopened and if the ulcer is still there, resewn. if that doesnt work, the dog could become blind/and/or lose the eye. yes the eye is removed and the lid sewn down since the eye ulcer eats away at the cornea. dogs can last adn functin w/o an eye, and shitztus are not working/hunting/guarding dogs so it affects the owner asthetically more then the dog.

my boxer went thru two bouts with re occurrant eye ulcer in the same eye. including the sewn down eye bit.

the eye drops were cortisones for reducing the swelling and a rather strong antibiotic for the infection.

to diagnos, a stain is put in the eye, then the ligths turned off and an UV lite used to see the ulcer on the eye.

as for losing the other eye: it depends on why the dog has a corneal ulcer. it could be bacterial, viral, genetic propensity, a cat scratch thta became infected - hence the possibility of infection moving to and causing problems with the other eye.

there is a vet list pinned above, scroll through it, but frankly, time IS of the essence. the longer u wait, the bigger the problem becomes. at the least, your dog should be getting some kind of eye drops already anyhow. can remember the name of the stuff we used but it was a combination of two or three antibiotics - maybe chlorphenicol and neomicin? cant remember and have since thrown our bottle out.

google for shitzus and corneal ulcers, check with two vets and make a decsion. if u arent up country, im sure there are fairly decent vets ; try called the shitzu club of thailand for a recommendation. im sure all the hi so thais with expensive show dogs have recommendations to make.

and i can personally tell u: i worked with four vets. each one had his/her own methods, diagnoses, preferred treatments, bedside manner. one american style, one french one russian and one israeli. put them in a room together (they were n same clinic different days) u get five opinions.

what is more important even is the anesthesia methods, the cleanliness of the clinic and after care of the dog.

good luck

bina

israel

[joequinn]

Thank you all for your advice. I will need to think about this.

Thanks Bina for the explanation.

[Nienke]

Kasetsart, Mahidol and Chulalongkorn are all Veterinary Universities, and so far I've heard from several people that have been there and had their pet treated, they are good.

My pug had a very bad ulcer in one of her eyes. One vet said operation (like explained by Bina) absolutely necessary. Another vet said it isn't. I went for the last option. Although there is a scar, her eye is saved and she can see with both eyes.

As Bina said, time is at stake here.

Chulalongkorn University

Faculty of Veterinary Science

TEl.: 0 2218 9771, 0 2218 9773

Mahidol University

Faculty of Veterinary Science

http://www.vs.mahidol.ac.th/hospital/

http://www.vs.mahidol.ac.th/index.php?opti...5&Itemid=74

Tel.:0-2441-5242-4

Kasetsart University

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

http://hospital.vet.ku.ac.th/

Tel. :0-2942-8756-9

[joequinn]

Thanks again everyone. I took her to Acare near Suvarnabhumi. They called in an eye specialist and she does not need to have her eye out; we will just need to be careful with it for the rest of her life. She also has high blood pressure and it was this that is causing the problem. Visiting Acare involved a 200km drive and it wasn't cheap, but it was worth it becasue I feel my dog had a proper assessment. I only wish that I had taken her there in the beginning; she would probably still have the sight in her eye if we did.

[bina]

thanx for the update. what recommendations did they make for 'being careful'? eye drops, blood pressure meds?

bina

israel

[Cuban]

I underwent a crash education on this subject a few months ago when one of my dogs had a problem, just a very minor infection that passed quickly but prompted me to learn more. I recalled the treatment Bina suggests.

...the treatment being two kinds of eye drops plus sewing down the wierd second eyelid (cant remember what its called) over the eye for a fairly long time. the eye is reopened and if the ulcer is still there, resewn. if that doesnt work, the dog could become blind/and/or lose the eye. yes the eye is removed and the lid sewn down since the eye ulcer eats away at the cornea. dogs can last adn functin w/o an eye, and shitztus are not working/hunting/guarding dogs so it affects the owner asthetically more then the dog.

And.

For dogs with lots of facial hair, removing the hair that can poke onto the eye's lens can help avoid problems cause by that method of infection.

I clipped our fluffy house dog that day, taking care to avoid cutting her eye lashes or whiskers.

HTH.