Poor Wittle Ham

[jys1011]

Oh Bdawg it sounds like a tough decision. I'm so sorry to hear he has to have surgery I know you'll do what's best for him.

[lvoss]

Have you seen a vet opthamalogist? My girl Rio got scratched in the eye this past December. Our primary care vet started her on antibiotics and an eye oitment but told us if after a week she did not improve they would refer out to a vet opthamalogist. Apparently, it is not uncommon for scratches to the eye to be long improve and sometimes requires that the vet opthamalogist moves a blood vessel to the site so it can heal. We were lucky and Rio's scratch was towards the edge of eye so it vascularized on its own and healed without intervention.

For eyes I would definately see a vet opthamalogist when surgery is recommended.

[MaxBooBooBear]

@BDawg:

Well, the vet wants to do surgery- they think the abscess on the top lid might be causing the scratch. He seems to be doing fine though. Thoughts?? Right now the surgery is scheduled for Monday the 11th– and it will be done at the same time as the teeth cleaning so the anesthesia is already covered. I'm still a little reluctant.

Poor Miles. I would definitely take him to see an opthomologist. Years ago, I took one of my dogs to a vet, then an opthomologist who wanted to do surgery, and then to a second opthomologist who told me surgery wasn't necessary. It was a different problem, but I was sure glad I didn't have the surgery done.

[BDawg]

So… it appears that Miles's eye is not giving him any trouble anymore. He still has the abscess on the top lid and the skin tag on the bottom lid- but he's holding his eye open just fine and does not have any eye-goo production (yes, that's a technical term. ;)) So now I'm really starting to wonder about having the surgery. Isn't it usually the case that if it isn't bothering him, you should leave it alone?

Does anyone know how much it is out of pocket to see a specialist? I've never actually had to take my dogs to one.

The surgery is still slated for Monday with a price tag of about $700- all due up front. Ah, decisions, decisions.

[MacPack]

Hopefully the scratch will heal well. Our Nicky had a bad ulceration on her eye, it is much better but we have been using drops and ointments for over 3 months, 3 times a day. Vet said it could have been a bit of debris that got under the lid and caused the deep abrasion.

Good luck! A tip from our canine eye doc, if you have the ointment in those tiny tubes, use very warm (but not HOT) water and dip just the metal tip (uncapped)in it for about 20 seconds, it will liquify just what is in the tip, and it flows onto the eye rather than landing as a big glob.

Anne in Tampa

[MaxBooBooBear]

I don't remember exactly, but I think around $100 for an initial exam and then they would charge extra for any special tests. It has been worth every penny. I would not go forward with any surgery on the eye without seeing a specialist–especially since Miles seems to be getting better. But I would try to get him in as soon as possible to make sure further damage isn't being done. With Pepper's situation years ago, I paid about $200 to see two different specialists and avoided an unnecessary, expensive, and long recuperation time surgery that was not required at all.

[lvoss]

Around here a basic exam is $35-55 for a vet opthamologist.

[tanza]

And here too, still in No Cal but our prices are sometimes higher then what lvoss gets… and it is well worth the cost... to have a specialist look... while your regular Vet is great... an eye specialist sees and understands possible problem with the eyes...

[Barklessdog]

Definately get a second opionion. At will give you peace of mind. You dont hant to have any doubts.

Hugs & kisses for Miles!

He's always been one of my favorites on this site!

[BDawg]

Awww, that was really sweet Barkless
I canceled his appointment for surgery today. I just don't see that he's troubled at all by his eye anymore. He's having no problems that we can tell. I'm going to consider getting a second opinion, but it'll take some investigation to find a good ophthalmologist. Thanks for everyone's support!!

[lvoss]

Here is the ACVO search page to find a vet opthamologist.

http://www.acvo.org/locate_an_ophthalmologist.htm

[tanza]

@BDawg:

Awww, that was really sweet Barkless
I canceled his appointment for surgery today. I just don't see that he's troubled at all by his eye anymore. He's having no problems that we can tell. I'm going to consider getting a second opinion, but it'll take some investigation to find a good ophthalmologist. Thanks for everyone's support!!

Please visit this site if you can't get a referral from your own vet…
http://www.vmdb.org/clinic.html
IMO, I would find one sooner then later… eyes are nothing to mess around with....

That said, Mickii had a skin tag on her upper eye lid that I did have my regular Vet remove, but her eye specialist said it was something that is fairly routine to do (remove the skin tag on the eye lids), but to go unresolved can cause problems with the eye later...

[BDawg]

Well, after much debate, and a string of rescheduled (by the vet) appointments, Miles did have his surgery. The tags seemed to be getting bigger and he was holding his eye shut almost constantly (except for when treats were present…lol)

He's 2 days post op now. He's doing better. Still holding his eye shut... but I would too if I had a stitch that close to my eye!!

The sleeping Ham

Miles also had a mole removed from his neck. It was growing too and we didn't like it's location being so close to where his collar sits.

Today we have our first visit after the surgery. Wish us luck!

[MaxBooBooBear]

Best of luck to all of you!!!! Miles is a lucky little guy to have such caring parents.

[sharronhurlbut]

I am glad he has such wonderful caring owners.
Hugs to you and you boy.

[BDawg]

He's doing a LOT better tonight… he's actually got his eye open!! Hurray!! The post op visit went well... although he did growl at the vet and show him his hackels...but we have to keep his e-collar on for 2 more weeks!

[Eli_and_Me]

Glad to hear Miles is doing better! We'll keep paws and fingers crossed that he keeps it up.

[Ninabeana26]

Glad to hear Miles is recovering nicely!

[renaultf1]

Poor Ham…but glad to hear he is on the mend!