My Maddie has dry eye in her left eye only. We have tried several medications and none of them worked to stimulate her tear production. Thus, we were sent to an ophthamologist at UT vet school. This is where a specialist determined Maddie was born with either no tear duct in her eye or one with a genetic defect which eventually stopped working.
There are reallt 2 scenerios here and you should find out just how much has been done with Ginger to help solve her problem. 1.) She can be put on tear stimulators such as those mentioned my Lady's mom. If these work, she will need to have these for the rest of her life along with other lubricating drops. 2.) She does not have a working tear duct and therefore, tear stiulators will not work, as in Maddie's case. This means you will find yourself cleaning her eye out several 3-4 times a day with eye wash and a warm cloth. Then, she will need drops or ointment applied about every 3-4 hours. In my case, my dh often works from home and I work close to home so this is usually managable for us. However, on days that she goes all day without drops, I come home to find her eye completly covered with mucus.
We have considered a surgery. This is called the Parotid Duct Transposition. The parotid duct is the salivary gland on either side of the facial cheek. It produces saliva which is carried to the mouth via a long duct. This duct can be carefully dissected out and moved so as to deliver saliva over the eye. Saliva actually makes a reasonable substitute for tears though in time some mineral deposits will form on the eye surface and eye drops may be needed to control this.
KCS is a very serious condition and can easily become costly.
I encourage you to find out as much as you can about the treatment Ginger has received. Do you know if she is on tear stimulator now and if it is working?