Enucleation - when it's absolutely necessary

[Juliealfies mum]

That’s good news for Jenna , I hope she continues to improve.
We had to take Lottie to the emergency vet today as she had sickness and was unable to even keep water down, she was not on any pain meds for her eye so the vet gave her a painkilling injection and an anti sickness injection and she does seem a lot better.
She is 15 but very sprightly ,our little Alfie is. 16 and a half years old so we have two little oldies to pamper, we are very lucky .

[ladyjane]

Happy news for Jenna!!

I am so sorry to hear Lottie had a difficult day. I hope her eye is better soon.

[alfrookie]

My dog went blind over the course of a few weeks, 3 summers ago. Recently I had to remove his left eye after it swelled up and now it appears the other will need enucleation as well. I'm so close with my little buddie and I think there might have been a time when I never would have considered such a traumatic procedure(voluntarily atleast).
His blindness and being that I'm so attentive to him anyway has really educated me.
All the tragedy we associate to blindness is communicated. It's all built up in what humans tell each other. This little guy deals with it totally fine. He wakes up, waits for his head to focus and begins his day. He doesn't care one way or the other. Nate Bargetzee joked that the dog's thought is "these are the cards I was dealt"

[Jenna AK]

Thank you all for your insights. I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated this thread.
Sadly, Jenna's ulceration in her left eye has never properly healed. It took months for me to convince my vet that oral antibiotics were necessary and for awhile these seemed to help, but on her coming home day anniversary at the end of April, she blundered into a drawer handle in the kitchen when I had my back turned for a few seconds. My lack of attention has cost her in that the eye was compressed and for a few days looked like it would not expand again. It has since recovered it's normal shape, but has begun to degrade. Enucleation is now the only option.
After this incident her ophthalmologist was contacted by my vet (via Zoom, I'm guessing) and was shown either images of her eyes or was allowed to view her in the exam room by webcam. Apparently she was able to distinguish that Jenna has phthisis bulbi in each eye. Both she and my vet agree that a bilateral procedure would be best and she is scheduled for June 3.


This has been problematic because despite continued medication she is still uncomfortable when she is eating. It's a waiting game at present. I am assured by my vets that once she has had the surgery and time to heal afterwards she will be feeling immeasurably better. There has been no talk of her age being a factor, but since being on the gabapentin since the end of January she has had one seizure. It was a sizable one and very scary but since lowering her dosage she has not had a repeat episode. It may also be causing some issues with her kidneys, her BUN/creatinine has shot up into the low 50's as of her last blood test around the beginning of May.


This continues to be a very frustrating and worrying time. I look forward to getting this over and done and her being able to drop a significant amount of daily medication. I still don't know how she's going to deal with being eyeless, but the absence of pain is a gift that I will pay any price for.


A good friend has offered to fund the surgery. I will be taking at least a week off from work to help her through the early recovery. Does anyone have any tips on how to make this as comfortable an experience as possible for her? Especially in the area of a cone? She was given a plastic collar for me to try her out with, but it really doesn't seem to be a good fit and she definitely won't be able to sleep with it on, but I know her...she'll try to mess with the surgical sites. Can anyone recommend a cloth e-collar that is good for tiny dogs?


Thanks for reading and wish us luck. It is a long row to hoe at this point and now that we've come to the last chance saloon, it really is a roller coaster of emotions that I'm on. I waver back and forth every day. I only know for certain that she seems to want to keep going, despite the difficulties. I can't give up on her now.

[Juliealfies mum]

I’m so sad to hear of this situation after all you have been through I was hoping it would not come to this. I wish you luck for operation. As for the collar we had a little inflatable collar that was better than the cone.

[Jenna AK]

Thank you, Juliealfies Mum. I appreciate the recommendation. We're looking into several options for her, just something easy for her to lay down with and sleep. She has one of those fabric "caterpillar" beds, (they look like a Yorkie sized sleeping bag or a slipper) but I think she's not going to be able to use it again till the stitches come out, the cone comes off and she's significantly healed. Poor wee mite has had a time of it but I'm really hoping this is the best way forward for her.


Thank you also for your good wishes for the surgery. I can tell you I'm on pins that have only gotten worse now that we're a week away. I just want to see her feel better and not having to put up with me poking her face anymore and putting nasty, stinging drops in her eyes will probably be a huge relief.

[MauiGirl]

Sending good thoughts your way, hope her recovery goes well.

[Jenna AK]

Thank you Maui Girl


Well, I have to say, it's been a very rough few days. I haven't slept well since before the surgery. We're only two days out and it's been a struggle for her because I can guess it probably hurts more than the eyes did, but this morning she stuck her tongue out and washed my daughter's arm, something she does for comfort, despite how much it must pain her face. She has eaten baby food happily and walked and peed, but not pooped yet. Not surprising. She's also not really drinking water, I have to gently syringe it in. She was hooked up to an IV all day during her procedure.



It's a nasty set of scars. Don't know what I expected but it isn't as nice as some after pictures I've seen. Our poor babies' faces are all eyes, so I suppose it is what it is.


She's coping but just barely right now, still she wanted to go on her usual walk yesterday afternoon. Can't make it past the mailbox, but she did try!


I think the headache must be gone for the most part. It must be nice not to have those swollen and damaged eyeballs in her head, plus no more drops! She hasn't been able to keep her tongue in her mouth for months, today it is behaving much more normally. Eating will be difficult until she heals better. We won't be able to tell for awhile yet but I'm really hoping the majority of her pain is gone and it's all just surgical site stuff now.

Also, she acts like someone just gave her a new nose! She's scenting things much quicker than she was and God forbid you walk past her with a piece of cheese...she gets really wild and we need to keep her quiet for 14 days! It's going to be a looooong two weeks till those stitches come out and I think she probably could see more light than we thought as she seems much more disoriented, but I'm withholding judgement till she's considerably recovered.


Thank you all for your well wishes. They are most appreciated.

[Juliealfies mum]

Just seen your latest post . I hope she is healing well, sending you our thoughts xx