Eyelid Surgery
The majority of the eye problems can be medically managed, but some need surgical intervention for recovery or to make the patient comfortable. We offer a range of ophthalmic surgeries as detailed below
Medial canthoplasty
Brachycephalic breeds, such as Pugs and Shih Tzus, characterized by their protruding eyes, frequently suffer from recurrent corneal ulcers and pigmentary keratitis—a condition where a brownish pigment invades the cornea. Their distinctive eye structure, with eyelids that struggle to shield the delicate cornea due to bulging eyes, leaves the eye vulnerable to damage. Compounding this issue is the prevalence of medial entropion among these breeds, where the lower eyelid near the nose inverts, causing constant corneal irritation. Medial canthoplasty, a prophylactic surgical intervention, effectively narrows the eyelid aperture. This procedure not only safeguards ocular surface health by mitigating corneal drying but also rectifies the medial entropion hence eliminating constant irritation of the cornea.
Eyelid tumor removal
Eyelids can develop small growths on its margin which can slowly grow over the period and sometimes bleed if your pet scratches it. These tumors also continue to rub on the surface of the sensitive cornea causing keratitis. It is always advisable to get these masses removed as earlier than later. Some eyelid tumors can be malignant hence we recommend sending all the masses for histopathology to understand which type of tumor we are dealing with.
Typically, small eyelid masses are removed with cryo surgery (application of extreme cold temperature) or wedge resection; but larger masses require an eyelid reconstructive surgery
Cherry eye correction
The term "cherry eye" refers to the prolapse of the third eyelid's tear gland, which is responsible for producing up to 50% of your pet's tear film. Older methods that involve removal of this gland carry a significant risk of resulting in "dry eye," a chronic condition later in your pet's life. To avoid this, we typically perform Morgan’s pocket technique that preserves the gland while correcting the prolapse. We use a combination of a few other surgical techniques in certain situations like excessively large gland or droopy eyelids such as intra-nictitance tacking or ventral rectus tacking to reduce the chance of relapse.
Correction of entropion
Entropion means the eyelids turn in towards the cornea and the eyelashes or facial hair can rub against the cornea, causing corneal ulceration or severe discomfort. If left untreated these can cause serious corneal problems. Usually after surgical correction, the cornea heals much faster and the patient becomes comfortable.
Removal of extra eyelashes
Some dogs are born with extra eyelashes which are directed towards the cornea. This causes constant irritation and excessive watery discharge. Shih Tzus are especially prone to this condition. In this surgery, we remove every root of the extra eyelash so that they don't grow back either with cryo epilation, electroepilation or manual removal.
Facial fold removal
Certain breeds like Chow Chow, Shar pei, Saint Bernard have excessive facial skin causing multiple skin folds. These skin folds push the eyelids inwards causing corneal ulceration. A simple entropion surgery does not work in these cases and requires removal of a facial fold. This is a very long, back breaking surgery but is absolutely essential in these patients.
Correction of torn eyelid
Eyelid structure is highly specialized and if it is torn in a traumatic accident, it needs to be sutured as soon as possible. Any delay in suturing leads to scar formation and the wound continues to get bigger and the correction becomes much harder.
Correction of eyelid agenesis
Some kittens are born with malformed eyelids or without eyelids. These kittens suffer from severe corneal irritation and can't open their eyes due to the discomfort. We create their eyelids surgically by taking a rotational graft from their own lips.
Eyelids can develop small growths on its margin which can slowly grow over the period and sometimes bleed if your pet scratches it. It is always advisable to get these masses removed as earlier than later because these masses tend to grow in size and once they are bigger and cover more than 30% of the eyelid margin, we have to perform eyelid reconstruction which is a much more involved surgery. Some eyelid tumors can be malignant hence we recommend sending all the masses for histopathology to understand which type of tumor we are dealing with.
Entropion means the eyelids turn in towards the cornea and the eyelashes or facial hair can rub against the cornea, causing corneal ulceration or severe discomfort. If left untreated these can cause serious corneal problems. Usually after surgical correction, the cornea heals much faster and the patient becomes comfortable.
Certain breeds like Chow Chow, Shar pei, Saint Bernard have excessive facial skin causing multiple skin folds. These skin folds push the eyelids inwards causing corneal ulceration. A simple entropion surgery does not work in these cases and requires removal of a facial fold. This is a very long, back breaking surgery but is absolutely essential in these patients.
Pugs, Shih Tzus and all the similar breeds with prominent eyes tend to get recurrent corneal ulcers and pigmentary keratitis (a brown pigment encroaches over the cornea), as the eyelids are unable to protect the sensitive cornea due to bulging nature of the eyes. They also tend to have a medial entropion which means that the lower eyelid in the nasal corner of the eye turns in and rubs on the cornea constantly. Medial canthoplasty is a preventative surgery in which the opening of the eyelid margin is reduced. This helps in maintaining the health of the surface of the eye by preventing the cornea from drying and also corrects the medial entropion.
Some dogs are born with extra eyelashes which are directed towards the cornea. This causes constant irritation and excessive watery discharge. Shih Tzus are especially prone to this condition. In this surgery, we remove each and every root of the extra eyelash so that they don’t grow back.
Cherry eye means prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid. This gland produces 30% of the tears. If the prolapsed gland is removed as described in the older technique, there is a very high risk of development of dry eye later in your pet’s life. We correct the cherry eye with the pocket technique where we preserve the gland of the third eyelid. Though rare, relapse is certainly a possibility. Usually the reason for relapse is if the stitches come loose in the early post operative period. In this case resuturing at the earliest is recommended.
Eyelid structure is highly specialized and if it is torn in a traumatic accident, it needs to be sutured as soon as possible. Any delay in suturing leads to scar formation and the wound continues to get bigger and the correction becomes much harder.
Some kittens are born with malformed eyelids or without eyelids. These kittens suffer from severe corneal irritation and can’t open their eyes due to the discomfort. We create their eyelids surgically by taking a rotational graft from their own lips.