Blink Veterinary Eye Specialists’ Services

The conditions we see at Blink—and the options for treatment

From routine eye problems to complex ophthalmic diseases and traumatic eye injuries, we see a wide range of conditions that affect animals’ vision. With our specialized training and expertise, we’re able to tailor treatment to your pet’s individual needs:

• Corneal ulcers, abrasions: A painful condition that occurs when a pet experiences trauma to the eye’s outer clear lining (cornea), usually as a scratch, which can quickly become infected. Systemic diseases such as diabetes, allergies, and hypothyroidism also can predispose pets to corneal ulcers.
  • Treatment options: Some treatment options we will work through with you may include medications tailored toward treating your pet’s specific ulcer and/or infection in addition to pain management; a procedure (keratotomy/diamond burr) aimed at restarting healing along with a bandage contact lens; and surgery to stabilize the damaged cornea. A microsurgical corneal graft, like what’s done for humans, can also be performed for deep or perforating ulcers.
    

• Cataracts: A cataract is a clouding opacity inside the eye’s normally crystal clear lens, leading to decreasing vision and blindness. Cataracts left untreated can often create extremely painful and unmanageable secondary issues. Once a cataract develops, the lens will continue to deteriorate, causing chronic inflammatory changes within the eye and conditions such as uveitis, glaucoma, and retinal detachment.
  • Treatment options: The standard of care for cataracts—just as in people—is highly effective microsurgery (phacoemulsification) to remove the lens and implant an artificial lens to restore vision. Without surgery, there is no way to remove a cataract or restore vision. 

• Glaucoma: A blinding and painful disease in people and pets in which pressure builds up inside the eye, damaging the retina and optic nerve. Glaucoma may be inherited or due to inflammation (uveitis). While there is no cure for this disease in people or pets, if treated promptly, blindness can be prevented or delayed.
  • Treatment options: As in humans, treatment to alleviate pressure and pain, and to prolong vision, may be medical (eye drops) or surgical (placement of intraocular shunts to drain aqueous fluid or laser therapy).

• Eyelid issues: There are multiple conditions that can affect a pet’s eyelids causing irritation and discomfort, including:
  • Masses: Benign and malignant (cancerous).
  • Entropion: An abnormality in which the eyelid rolls inward, causing hair on the outer eyelid surface to rub against the cornea resulting in pain, corneal ulcers, and scarring.
  • Ectropion: When a pet’s lower eyelid rolls away from the eye, causing a droopy appearance and exposing the delicate mucous membrane. This increases susceptibility to irritating conditions such as conjunctivitis (‘pink eye’), keratitis (corneal inflammation), corneal scarring and possible vision loss.
  • Distichia: When extra hairs grow out of the eyelash area. Common in dogs (less so in cats), irritation from these hairs can cause discomfort and damage the corneal surface, leading to repeated corneal ulcers.
  • Ectopic cilia: Abnormally located hair follicles that erupt from the inside of the eyelid, in direct contact with the cornea. It can be painful and cause repeated corneal ulcers often in younger dogs.
  • Treatment options: Various surgical and sedated cryosurgical (using extreme cold) procedures to remove eyelid masses of all sizes, as well as conformational correction of these other painful eyelid issues. In some cases, we can use collagen injections for immediate improvement as well.

• Dry eye: Dry eye (the medical term is keratoconjunctivitis sicca) occurs when the tear glands don’t make enough tears to lubricate the eye, or the tears evaporate too quickly to provide sustained lubrication. Increased friction from simply blinking with dry eye leads to significant inflammation, periocular discharge, and heavy corneal scarring that can bring on blindness if not treated appropriately. Most dogs develop dry eye due to an auto-immune inflammation of the tear glands.
  • Treatment options: Advanced medical therapy to restore tear production and comfort, as well as surgical options for pets resistant to eye drops.

• Uveitis: Inflammation inside the eye. It’s a serious and painful condition that can result from a number of both ocular and systemic diseases, and if left untreated, can lead to blindness. Numerous options are available to help find the cause of uveitis and, after a thorough exam, our team will discuss which if any tests are needed to guide therapy (blood chemistry testing, systemic fungal testing, ocular ultrasound).
  • Treatment options: Anti-inflammatories are often the first-line treatment in uveitis and can be administered topically, through local injections (periocular or intraocular), or systemically (orally or intravenously). Controlling inflammation alone though is often not enough without the combined antibacterial or fungal therapy needed to treat the cause of the inflammation.