Cherry Eye - treatment?

AMT&THC

My cocker spaniel puppy has recently developed cherry eye. What treatments have you used for this? I know this happens a lot in bull dogs too! Thanks. 

dmarie979

Your vet can position it back in place however it is likely to happen again. My dog needed surgery to repair it. Has your puppy been spayed/neutered yet? If not, I recommend doing both under 1 surgery. that is what my vet did. The bill was lower and it was safer for the dog because he only had to be sedated 1 time.

AMT&THC

How much was the surgery? I am just trying to get an idea. TIA

dmarie979

It will really depend. The first vet wanted to charge me $1000. The second vet (which I ended transferring to) charged me $250 for the neuter and the cherry eye fix.

 

ETA: This was also over 5-6 years ago.

pikakegirl

There are three approaches for cherry eye.

1) do nothing. it's ugly, but it's not dangerous and it doesn't hurt.

2)  remove it completely. this does not require anesthesia. it's a very short procedure and should cost less than $200 (and I live in an expensive city).

3) surgically tack it back. this requires anesthesia, and is considerably more expensive ($1000 - $2000, depending on the breed) and more dangerous (PP comment about doing it alongside neutering or spaying to avoid multiple instances of anesthesia is correct).

You will find people who argue that approach #2 is bad for the dog, and claiming that it causes dry eye. 

You will find people who say that's not true at all, and that cherry eye removal and dry eye are unrelated - that they are two different glands. I am in this camp.

If it were my dog, I would have it removed, but ultimately you need to do the research and decide what you're comfortable with. Also, ask your vet what % of people opt for which surgery. If they say that 90% of people tack it back, that's because they tell them that it's bad to remove it. That vet will never make you comfortable with the idea of removing it. If they tell you that 90% of people remove it, that's because it's what they endorse, and hopefully they can shed some knowledge and make you more comfortable that you're making a safe decision.

 

AMT&THC

Extremely helpful! Thanks!

dmarie979

pikakegirl:

1) do nothing. it's ugly, but it's not dangerous and it doesn't hurt.

Sorry, but this is not entirely accurate. The condition itself is not dangerous but it can cause a lot of secondary issues. The glandular tissue is not supposed to be exposed. Therefore it can become inflamed, irritated, damaged or infected. Also, in some dogs it can be bothersome so they will try and rub their eyes onto various objects or scratch their eyes with their paws to get relief. In doing this they can cause more damage.

Personally, I would not leave it. PP is correct that you can tack it back or remove it. I should have been clearer in my post that my vet tacked it back into place.

PunkyBooster

I had a foster with them. We did have one surgery to tuck them back in, but they both popped back out. They were not obstructing his view or causing any problems, so we left them alone. His current owners have chosen to do the same.