Third Eye Lid
 

Hi everyone. My little Tribbles has what the vet called a third eye lid. Her botton eye lid curls under too much and causes her hair to poke into her eye. The third eye lid is trying to push the hair back out. Our vet says that the only thing that can be done for it is a puppy eye lift ($500.00) Has anyone else had is problem??

Sorry I've never had this problem. Good luck. Wish I could be of more help.

I read about this when I was researching doggy eye "stuff' after Ava go her corneal ulcer. I thought it might be her problem but it's not. Good luck with yours.

I've not had a yorkie with that problem but it is quite common. Expensive as well.

This is probably a stupid question, but will it help if you just keep her hair short around her face and eyes so it doesn't go in there? :rolleyes:

I think it is inside the eye. You cannot cut the hair inside.

When the eye lid curls inward it is called an entropion which is very common in certain breeds like the sheri pei. Having worked for a vet I have seen the surgeries to fix these, I know that it is expensive but without the surgery the damage to the eye could cause blindness. The surgery itself is no more then removing a small piece of skin from under the eye to help keep the eye lid tight, and stop it from rolling inward. The sight heels fast and then you'll not have to worry about it again.

Thanks for your info about the eyelid thing. My poor Chewy had it, my vet called it "cherry eye" in layman's terms. Anyway, he did the operation as you said, but it didn't work, and it was still visable. So, I called them and they said they would do it again for free. Well, I wouldn't do that to my poor baby again. No way. But, God was with me and Chewy, because my regular vet was out of town, and he had his sub there to take his place. Well, the sub vet had fixed Chewy's other eye that had the same problem a couple of years ago. He took out the tear duct and the cherry eye disappeared. I never had a problem after that. You just have to put drops in their eyes for the rest of their lives, and that's not even an inconvenience, considering all if the things we do regularly for our babies. Anyway, he fixed this eye also, and now she is fine, thank God! He didn't even have to put her to sleep, he just gave her enough seditive so he could do it and it wouldn't hurt her. She was fine a couple of hours later, and raring to come home! Good ending! :thumbup:

My bad. I just realized my last post here was totally inappropriate. It wasn't the same thing at all that the origional post was about. You guys were talking about the eyelid. Duh....me..... :rolleyes: Oh well, maybe someone needed this other info about cherry eye. hehe.......And good luck with the eyelid thing! It doesn't sound too bad, after all. :thumbup:

I have heard of it with sheripeis but not Yorkies. Sorry Im no help. But good luck.

I totally vote for getting a 2nd opinion before ANY operations! I used to have a Maltese and the vet stated she had the same problem (he also stated this is why she had tear stains). I then took her to TWO other vets and they stated nothing was the matter! I also had another dog that a vet stated was close to death and showed me his vet book with a description and everything. I took her to another vet for a 2nd opinion and that vet took out the same book and showed me the first page and it stated info that made it very clear my dog could never have this problem and she lived until she was 13 years old! So although I am not stating your vet is wrong in any way I would just get a 2nd opinion before any MAJOR surgery. JMO though!

Good point. I never did get any other opinions on anything, even with my own health. But you are so right...there are so many ways to do things. Everyone would be wise to take that advice. Thanks! :thumbup:

I never heard of this. I search it and found this info:


1. ENTROPION, which is a rolling-in of the eyelid. This causes the hair on the surface of the eyelid to rub on the eyeball, which is both painful and often causes corneal ulcers or erosions. The corneal damage can also result in corneal scarring, which can interfere with vision. Usually the dog will squint and tear excessively. However, many flat-faced dogs with medial entropion (involving the inside corner of the eyes) show no obvious signs of discomfort.

Entropion is treated by surgical correction ("blepharoplasty"), which is essentially plastic surgery. Excessive folds and sections of facial skin are removed, and the eyelids tightened. It is uncommon for entropion to recur after surgery unless the entropion is quite involved, particularly in the Shar Pei breed. Very young puppies with entropion will often have "lid tacking" performed (rather than plastic surgery), in which temporary lid sutures are placed to roll out the lids. Often, these puppies do not require permanent plastic surgery once they have matured and "grown into" their facial skin. Permanent plastic surgery is usually not performed in puppies less than 5 or 6 months of age, giving the dog some time to develop its mature head conformation.

Dogs with inherited entropion should not be bred, as they can pass the trait on to their offspring. The Canine Eye Registration Foundation (see CERF information) publishes a list of breed-specific breeding recommendations for purebred dogs with entropion.

If you suspect that entropion is present in your pet, please consult with your family veterinarian. Your doctor may elect to have your pet referred to a veterinary ophthalmologist for further evaluation and possible surgical treatment.

I've never heard of this with dogs, but I used to work for an human Opthalmologist and we saw several cases of this with humans. Dangerous thing...it can cause very painful, infection prone corneal ulcers that could penetrate the cornea...I don't know of any vets practicing transplants for dogs so you certainly don't want that to happen. We did have several incidents where to doctor I worked for would literally freeze and kill the eyelash folicle causing it to never grow again. I don't know where you could find a vet who would do this (not much knowledge of how dogs are treated with this problem) but it is fixable.