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dottiesyrky · 02-21-2019, 05:20 PM

I am sorry your baby has cataracts. Yes it is expensive and would be a real pain if you had to travel far for the surgery as it does involve several pre op and follow up visits. As your dog is 13 I would not do the surgery unless the dog is in pain or for some other emergency. It is a difficult procedure which involves a lot of drops in the eyes several times a day and a hard cone. Some dogs don’t mind it, but mine did not like it at all. My dog was only just over a year old when he had surgery in one eye for a juvenile cataract.
Apart from vision loss, the mailn reason for the surgery is to prevent glaucoma, that can be painful. If you decide to look into the surgery with a specialist, please ask many questions about the pros and cons for your particular dog and the risk of glaucoma.
I mainly did it as my dog was so young. He has an immature cataract in the other eye, but is fine. The surgery in the other eye went well. He is now ten years old and I would not do the surgery at his age, unless it was a serious emergency.
But please don’t just take my word for the process as each dog is different and the vet has to decide if surgery is the right thing to do. My cost in CA was $3;500 but I had insurance!
I wish you luck and pray your dog does not need surgery and that she keeps enough vision to enjoy life.

02-21-2019, 05:20 PM	#3
dottiesyrky Donating YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: SW USA Posts: 2,505	Cataract surgery I am sorry your baby has cataracts. Yes it is expensive and would be a real pain if you had to travel far for the surgery as it does involve several pre op and follow up visits. As your dog is 13 I would not do the surgery unless the dog is in pain or for some other emergency. It is a difficult procedure which involves a lot of drops in the eyes several times a day and a hard cone. Some dogs don’t mind it, but mine did not like it at all. My dog was only just over a year old when he had surgery in one eye for a juvenile cataract. Apart from vision loss, the mailn reason for the surgery is to prevent glaucoma, that can be painful. If you decide to look into the surgery with a specialist, please ask many questions about the pros and cons for your particular dog and the risk of glaucoma. I mainly did it as my dog was so young. He has an immature cataract in the other eye, but is fine. The surgery in the other eye went well. He is now ten years old and I would not do the surgery at his age, unless it was a serious emergency. But please don’t just take my word for the process as each dog is different and the vet has to decide if surgery is the right thing to do. My cost in CA was $3;500 but I had insurance! I wish you luck and pray your dog does not need surgery and that she keeps enough vision to enjoy life. Last edited by dottiesyrky; 02-21-2019 at 05:23 PM.