Veterinary Ophthalmology

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Veterinary Ophthalmology

• MedVet/CVES
• Worthington, Ohio
• Amanda Rogers

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• MedVet/CVES is a specialty and 24-hour veterinary
  emergency care facility
• With a staff of over 25 veterinarians, including
  over a dozen specialists
• The largest private veterinary referral/emergency
  center in the Midwest

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• CVES operates as an emergency practice only
• No routine veterinary preventative care is
  offered
• Vaccines
• Heartworm or flea preventative
• Yearly wellness exams

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• MedVet operates on referrals only
• From your family veterinarian
• From a CVES doctor
• With difficult cases many private practice
  veterinarians refer their patients to a
  specialist for a more complete and diagnostic
  workup

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Veterinary Specialists

• Cardiology
• Ophthalmology
• Internal Medicine
• Surgery
• Radiology
• Oncology
• Neurology
• Dermatology
• Dentistry

• Specialists are required to complete internship
  and residency programs typically 3 to 5 years.
• Specialists receive board certification by
  fulfilling clinical training, research,
  scientific publications, and extensive
  examination.

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Ophthalmology

• Entire focus is on prevention and treatment of
  ocular diseases
• Most patients referred by their regular
  veterinarian

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Initial Evaluation

• Pertinent ocular and related health history
• Duration of problem
• Medications presently, or recently,
  administered
• Previous related ocular or systemic diseases
• All pertinent information from your regular
  veterinarian is reviewed

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Basic Examination

• Evaluations of vision             Menace
               Pupillary Light Reflexes
•  Ability to navigate in a room
• Schirmer Tear Tests
• Eye Stains             Fluorescein
               Rose Bengal
• Tonometry
• Slit Lamp Examination
• Ophthalmoscopy

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Frequent Cases

• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Cherry eye
• Ulcers

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Glaucoma

• Intraocular pressures (IOPs) are gt20 mm Hg
• This is a blinding disease
• Caused by trauma or genetics
• Lifelong treatment

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Glaucoma

• Painful disease
• Even with treatment most cases eventually result
  in the loss of one or both eyes
• Enucleation
• ISP placement

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Enucleation

• An eye is completely removed due to an ocular
  disease or trauma to the eye
• The lids are cut and sewn shut and the pet looks
  like it is winking

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ISP

• An incision is made in the eye and the inner
  contents removed
• A silicone ball is placed inside and the eye is
  sewn shut

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ISP

• ISPs are placed for cosmetics only
• The pet has no vision as a result from the
  implant
• The outside of the eye is still subject to
  abrasion and disease

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Cataracts

• The lens of one or both eyes becomes dense and
  the animals vision is restricted
• Causes
• Diabetes
• Heredity
• Trauma
• Retinal detachment

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Cataract screening

• Evaluation of candidacy
• Ocular ultrasound

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Cataract screening

• ERG tests for retinal function
• If the retina in not functioning the patient will
  not see, even with the cataract removed

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Cataract surgery

• The patients lens is removed
• An artificial lens is placed for optimum vision
• Patient is able to see immediately after surgery

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Cherry Eye

• Genetically caused
• Certain breeds have a high incidence
• Bulldogs
• Must be corrected surgically
• Predisposes the patient to dry eye

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Ulcers

• An abrasion to the eye
• Many possible causes
• The eye is stained to identify the extent of the
  ulcer
• Most are treated medically, but some require
  surgery

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Ulcers

• With deep ulcers the eye may rupture without
  surgical correction

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Daily Activities

• Evaluate patients during appointments
• Prepare animals for surgery
• Monitor patients during procedures
• Assist in surgical procedures
• Cataract surgery
• ISP placement

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Experience

• Gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in
  veterinary ophthalmology
• Formed contacts
• Expanded veterinary school application
• Experiences that many veterinarians dont have