First time here.

My Yorkie was diagnosed with catteracts at her visit to the vets for a her yearly booster. I am kind of numb, I really didn't expect this at 8 years old.

I hope now that these catteracts will not cause her discomfort or trouble in any way.

If anyone has any advice I would be very gratefull.

Lynsey

Welcome to the forum Lynsey :-)

Sorry to hear about your dog. I am sure some of our members will be able to share their experiences with you as soon as they read your post.

Good luck with your dog.

Lynsey, poor you!! i know how you feel - i took my mum's old bc for a booster when he was around nine, and got the same news. i was in shock about it for a while because to me he was still young!
Vet told me they would worsen over time and they did, but he adapted so well you honestly couldn't tell anything different until he was about fifteen!! He was still perfectly able to get around the house, garden and familiar walks fairly well at eighteen!!!
So don't lose heart, your dog will still lead a happy life with you, and it really doesn't affect them as much as you'd think so long as they're in familiar surroundings.

Annette

Well I am familiar with yorkies and have had some knowledge of catteracts as my mum's Dog (sadly passed away now) had a bad one in one eye, but my dog has them in both eyes (although not bad at moment).

I appreciate your reply, its an awfull feeling knowing I would do anything in the world for her but I couldn't help her with this. The vet told me that operations to remove them (when they worsen) could be dangerous and unhelpful as often they grow back.

We have also reserved a puppy yorkie to be picked up in January when she is old enough to leave her mum to keep our dog Poppy company as often she seems lonely. I am a poor substitute for dog company I think :). I have two children both boys who idolise Poppy and will do so to the new puppy (now named in our minds as Phoebe) aswell and our family wish to help Poppy in any way we can, so we would appreciate any advice good or bad that is available.

Thanks for your time.

Lynsey

Lynsey, your vet is putting a very bleak slant on this. Perhaps he's seen cataract extractions go wrong in the past but its now a quite common procedure in dogs with or without an intraocular lens implant. The difficulty depends on the type off cataract to some extent, but providing the ey is normal behind the cataract, your dog stands a very good chance of having an excellent result if she needs them removed (and she may not as not all cataracts get worse). The cataract its self doesn't grow back but sometimes you do get a thickening in the membrane that's left when the cataract is removed. That is quick and easy to sort with a laser. Don't however let your own vet remove the cataract himself. Insist on referral to a veterinary eye specialist who does lots of them. Alternatly some vets get a human ophthalmic (eye) surgeon to do the operations, which is quite legal and OK with the RCVS as long as the surgeon is technically 'assisting' the vet and the owners have given permission.

My parents Cocker had cataracts in both eyes and got a referral to a vet near Guildford. He was very positive about removing them but warned that they mayl reoccur and as the dog was diabetic this added complications to the recovery. The referring vet thought the visit was a waste of time and that the specialist would refuse to help.

In the end dad decided not to have them removed and Bess went blind, but this was almost certainly down to the diabetic complications.

Fiona
x x x

Hi Fiona, just to say again, once removed cataracts can't come back but the lens of the eye has a very thin membrane or 'bag' around it and in modern cataract surgery this is left behind. Sometimes the back of the 'bag' thickens after surgery, but that is easily corrected by a very small operation to make a slit in it, or more usually these days with a laser. People don't even need an anaesthetic for a capsulotomy but dogs do as they can't be depended on to stay still. Unfortunately as with your dad's dog if there are problems with the retina at the back of the eye, removing the cataracts won't work, but I suspect the main reasons dogs don't have cataracts removed are vets who don't know how safe the procedure is now and dogs that are too old for a non-emergency anaesthetic.

This has made me think, as Poppy is 8 would I be better having a specialist look at her eyes now, as he older she gets the more risks of anesthetic?..I know he vet said they are not that bad yet but it is not something I want to ignore.

Lynsey

That wouldn't be a bad idea Lynsey. Eight isn't that old for a yorkie, but its a good idea to have someone who knows what they are looking for assess the retina (back of the eye) while the cataracts are still early. Once they become dense the dog can't see out - and the ophthalmologist can't see in, so checking the retina properly is impossible.

even though the vet I use has told me her eyes are fine apart from the catteracts I think I agree I should get her seen by a specialist, I am in Cambridge so I think the vets school here would be able to help me locate a specialist.

I will contact them in the morning. :)

Thanks again everyone.

Lynsey

Hi Lynsey, she needs to be seen by the opthalmaoligist & not your vet who, with all due respest is not an eye specialist. I was talking very recently about this very thing with a specialist from the Animal Health Trust & it can be a very successful op in dogs & is becoming quite routine. Have a word with Sharon & her hubby who have offered their help.
Christine, Spain

thank you yes I am in contact with Sharon.

Regards

Lynsey

Just checked with dad :) and Bess' condition was complicated with ulcers in her eyes as well as cataracts and turned in eye lashes. :(

She was a wreck the poor thing and it was the ulcers that led dad to decided not to have the cataracts removed.

Fiona
x x x

Thank you so much for your help, I will have her eyes checked as regularly as I can and keep monitoring her to see how bad they et...an SHOULd she needan operation to emove themI will certainly give what you said a great deal of thought, as there is nothing, and I do mean nothing, I wouldn't do for her.

At the present time she is alseep snoring (very loudly for a yorkie) resting on my feet!.. *sigh* I love her to bits and then some.

Once again thankyou for all your help I will certainly do some research into the possibilities should I need them, the vet has told me that her eyes are healthy apart from the catteracts so I feel that is positive.

Regards

Lynsey

Hi again Lynsey, Ian (husband) and I have both 'assisted' our vets to remove cataracts from dogs as we are both human eye surgeons, so if I can help further, feel free to [email sight.hounds@virgin.net]e-mail[/email] me :)

NB - well I hope we are human! :D

Yes I agree you could get the cataracts removed, if they get too bad you could try Bristol Vet School (Langford) they have a good opthalmic specialist there. You could look into getting one eye done before she gets too old. She will manage perfectly well whatever you decide.

Best wishes

Clair
xxx

Saw a film of Prof. Bedford removing a catreract from a dogs eye, it was broken up first and then a sort of vacuum tube was used to suck the broken pieces up. Only a tiny hole was made to the front of the eye. Once the dog was round from the anaesthetic it was fine, running around and you would not have know that it had just had an eye op. it was clear that it was not in any pain. Ja:)kie

Prof. Peter Bedford was one of the first to perfect the removal of cataracts in dogs. Incidentally some of his papers were reproduced in "The Lancet" for the information of "Human" eye specialists. At the time Polly (Foxpath Flatcoated Retrievers) and myself raised quite a sum of money to purchase the necessary equipment.

In the main, late forming cataracts of which this would appear to be do not result in total blindness, just a restriction of vision so there is no reason why you should ever need to do anything about it. At the moment the late forming cataract is listed under "Conditions Under Investigation" in Yorkshire Terriers which means that although some have been found the BVA need more results before deciding whether to put it on the full list to be tested for or whether to remove it from the list.

Regards, John

Thank you for you reply. This is something I will have to look ino very thoroughly and come to a solution that will be right for Poppy.

She has already undergone an operation when she was spayed at 4 and I know she didn't like that..I stayed up all night with her so this is on my mind, although I am sure an eye op is not the same, there is still the anesthetic I have to consider.

I feel it would do no harm for her to see a specialist in the meantime though. She quite likes to be pampered at the vets, I think she likes the white coats...odd girl my Poppy.

Regards

Lynsey

Hi again Lynsey, I looked at your profile to see if there was any indication of your location. I see from your post that the condition was diagnosed by your vet rather than a canine ophthalmologist. One thing you could do would be to take your dog to a panellist on the BVA/KC/ISDS eye testing scheme. This is the testing scheme used by breeders to screen their dogs but is available to anyone. This would not need a referral from your vet and your dog would be seen by an expert in canine ophthalmology. There are sessions held around the country from time to time, my own not before next February but a number of panellists hold surgeries in a room at certain vets around the country. If you feel like putting a very rough location on here, the county would be enough I will be able to tell you you’re closest. The panellist won't do anything except examine your dog’s eyes but will be able to then tell you what the future has to offer. Your dog will not be anesthetised and you will be present to ask any questions.

Regards, John

sorry I had thought I had said earlier that I live in Cambridge but I am new here so bear with me.

Regards

Lynsey

Im sorry to say you are not served as well as some districts! Your nearest is:-

R Pontefract BVMS CertVOphthal CertEO MRCVS
43 Empingham Road
Stamford
Lincolnshire
PE9 2JR

Phone 01780 764333

Looking at Autoroute it looks about 46 miles from you (Depending on exactly where you are!!!) If you decide to go ahead, ring for an appointment. These people are very busy so it is possible he may not always be there, but the reception will be able to sort an appointment for you.

Regards, John

I thought I would try my local vet school here and also as suggested by Sharon the university may be of help but should either of those be unsuccesfull I will certainly travel anywhere to get her the help she needs.

Regards

Lynsey

When did Prof. Bedford begin to remove canine cataracts John? Just interested because I thought most of the early canine catartact extractions were done in the US. I'd also be grateful for the Lancet papers if you have them. Certainly human senile cataracts often do cause severe loss of vision to the point of light/dark discrimination only blindness and I'd thought it was the same for dogs. I may be wrong but I've certainly seen some very dense canine senile lens opacities.

Sorry Sharon, I dont have the papers and I won't be seeing Peter until our next session in February. Most late forming to my knoledge do not result in total loss of vision, Certainly Beth, who Peter diagnosed at 8 years old still had good sight when she died a few weeks short of 14 as he predicted.

I got involved with eye testing and through that with Peter around 20 years ago. At that time he was removing cataracts. He was also at that time spending quite a lot of time lecturing in the USA. Polly and I held shows and other fund raising events and raise several thousand pounds towards phacoemulsifies for the RVC at Hawkshead Lane.

Best wishes, John

Thanks John. :) I'll get the papers through the BMA. Ian says when you see Prof. Bedford tell him that if he would like some video of small incision lens extraction with IOL without phaco using the nucleus splitting technique and aspiration he's more than welcome.

Thank you Sharon and please thank Ian for me. I will certainly pass on your very kind offer when I see him next.

Best wishes, John

Hi Jackie, that method is called phacoemulsification. It uses a small incision and leaves the posterior capsule of the lens intact. Small incision surgery with saving of the posterior capsule is much safer and is the preferred method to use with modern intraocular lenses. There are other methods of achieving the same result without phaco, the main one invented by Himself! :D Older methods use a large incision and remove the entire lens including the capsule, but these have a higher risk of retinal detachment, cause more astigmatism and with dogs there is a risk of a larger incision opening if the dog paws at it.

i think a new pup is a wonderful idea - when our bc was nearly thirteen we got a terrier pup, and he gave him a whole new lease of life!! When our collie finally did go completely blind [at a ripe old age] the little guy used to pop out to the garden and tug on his leg to bring him back in :)
The cataracts took years to progress to the point where he had no sight at all - chin up, your home sounds perfect for her needs :)

awww thank you so much, we really do try to make our Pets as comfortable and as happy as we would want to be ourselves, She is my boys 'sister' and they do not see her any other way.

She understands them and they understand her and when they talk to her about the new puppy she wags her little tail :) I really must stop being so slushy.

We are all looking forward to the new arrival and have everything ready for her including a one very excitable Poppy who acts more like a Puppy every day (except for the snoring on my feet part).

Regards,

Lynsey