Does any one know of a decent vetinary opthamologist around Sheffield who could sort out my dogs cataracts for a normal price? My vet sent me to a specialist right down past Birmigham and when i got there the £500-£800 quote rose to up to £3000 after all the apperent necessary revisits.  I have insurance but still have to pay for 20%.

My dog is a little yorky mongral, 13 but still can leap about the mountains like a two year old but her eyesight is failing fast.

Any idea people?

Cheers

Stef

Frankly I w3ould not have them done.  A dog can have a pretty good quality of life without sight as it is not as reliant on it as we are.  At 13 1/2 I would not be taking the risks of putting such a small dog under anasthetic the risks to my mind would be too great for the benefit.

Thanks for your concern.

I would normally not bother, considering her age but my dog comes out with me climbing and walking and only last year climbed to the top of Scafell in the lakes and still wanted to play ball.  My vet says she is more like a six year old.

Cheers

Stef

Hi
If your insurance will pay so the cost isn't a problem, one of the top eye specialists in the country, Pip Boydell, is based in Manchester BUT does see patients a few times a week in Thurnscoe which is in between Doncaster and Barnsley.(I'm surprised your vet didn't mention this!) This is at the Animal Medical Centre which is referrals only. I cannot recommend Pip Boydell highly enough.
http://www.amcreferrals.com

Marianne

Marianne, I will second that.  Professional, thorough, reasonable priced and very knowledgeable.  We saw both Pip and Jim last January when Spends had his disc problem.  I can't praise them enough.     

Oh! PS! I almost forgot! My own normal vets (in Doncaster) have an American lady vet employed who is currently studying to become their own resident eye specialist. She managed to repair the eye of my little Papillon puppy this summer , a cat had punctured it, even when they said there was basically NO chance of it working unless I went to the AMC and paid around 2K. Also the owner there has not once but twice repaired ruptured eyes on one of my cats, so they do have a fair bit of experience with eyes. http://www.beechwoodvet.co.uk The lady vet is Miss McLean, the vet who repared my cats' eyes Mr Hammill. Might be worth checking with them?

Marianne

Stef,
What was the name of the eye specialist you saw in Birmingham.

I saw a vet prog once where a lady had her dogs cataracts removed, and it wasn't a success, as the retina's became detached, resulting in complete blindness. Apparently this is quite common. I can only guess  that it was because you cant tell a dog not to leap about or bang itself or move sharply post surgery.This was a couple of years ago, so maybe they've overcome this problem now.
K