hi all. my beloved puppy ddb is in the vet awaiting an operation to stop his eyelid turning in. He's in good hands as my vet has refered him to a specialist. I was just wondering if any of you guys had dogs with entropian especially in bordeaux breed. was the op succesful and what to expect when he comes home.
thanks Tanya

I've got a cocker spaniel who had entropian.  So far he has had three operations to correct it and the final result isn't cosmetically brilliant but he no longer suffers from sore eyes.

The operation on your DDB will be easier because he is a large breed and part of the problem with operating on an 8wk old cocker pup is that they are so small!  The vet needs to get his/her finger under the eyelid.

My pup has not been traumatised in the slightest by these operations and is always well as soon as he comes home.  We are always told to keep him quiet but being one of three, that's easier said than done.  He's usually right as rain the next day after anaesthetic and all I ever do is bathe the eyes regularly.

I am sure (as you've been referred to a specialist) that it will all go smoothly.  My pup is the only one that my very experienced vet has ever had to do three times!  Typical!

If you've got any specific questions I will do my best to answer them for you.

Good Luck but I am sure all will be fine.

Jacky

thank you Jacky, you have helped ease my mind a little. Red has already had his eyelid tacked down by our own vet, which was succesful for about a month. The specialist said he was going to cut the tendon so the eyelid would hopefully stay down although he did say there's no guarentee it would stay down. I know what you mean keeping the dog quiet afterwards, Red is one of 4 and is mad as a hatter, after the first op he came home and wanted to carry on as he did before.
how long was it before the stiches came out? The specialist also said to use viscotears or geltears, a lubricant for the eyes which i can buy over the counter at the chemist. have you ever tryed it?
Thanks again
Tanya

Don't worry about him, he'll be fine.  My pup had to have three operations on one eye including lengthening/shortening (I can't remember which!).  Its important you don't make the eyelid too loose (ectropian) or they get even more problems apparently so step by step is fine, rather than overdoing it first time, especially when they will continue growing.  I did use viscotears which were available far more cheaply online rather than silly vet prices but regular bathing with boiled water did just as well.  Stitches always came out in ten days and this was probably the worst part of the process needing a steady hand.  He wasn't too keen on being held very tightly for this but we managed.

The worst bit was when we took him out and he was in my arms, someone came over to stroke him and said "ooh you've got a bit of grass stuck" before trying to pluck the stiches out!!  I frightened the life out of the poor woman when I screached "NOOOOOO!!!"

The good thing to come out of this is that he is very comfortable with being handled and picked about!  I can clean ears, nails, teeth etc and he just lies there!

If you PM me your email I'll send you some pics!

Best Wishes
Jacky

Hi

My Shar Pei had surgery a year ago on both upper and lower eyelids and have to say the results were amazing, his eyes are beautiful and 100% more comfortable for him.

I found it hard when our boy came home as he looked awful and he was destressed but it healed quickly.

Good luck