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You are here: Home / Dogs / Ouch

Ouch

August 24, 2015

Wilbur with cone

Here’s somebody who isn’t a happy camper. A couple of weeks ago Wilbur began squinting in that one eye of his, and it looked like he had a small corneal ulcer. We began treating it as we normally do, and as long as we kept the medications going in the eye, it seemed comfortable. But as soon as we stopped, the discomfort would reappear. Clearly, it wasn’t healing like it should. So last week I took him to Peak Veterinary Referral Center to see our ophthalmologist, Dr. Sarah Hoy. She was kind enough to squeeze us in between surgeries, so her?vet techs were busy tending to those patients and that meant I was holding Wilbur for her … and thus no photos!

She quickly diagnosed the problem: Wilbur had an “indolent ulcer,” which is simply … an ulcer that doesn’t heal.

As she wrote in her discharge instructions for us, “The normal cornea is made of layers with the top layer being the epithelium and the middle being the stroma. There are small Velcro-like attachments holding these layers together. In non-healing ulcers, these Velcro-like attachments are not properly formed between the corneal layers and the epithelium may be wiped off the cornea. This creates an ulcer which can be painful, leading to squinting and tearing. When the epithelium tries to grow back over the the stroma to heal the ulcer, the same Velcro-like attachments don’t form and the ulcer won’t completely heal.”

Here’s a great write-up on indolent ulcers with diagrams from a British veterinary ophthalmology clinic that explains what is involved in treating this condition.

While I held Wilbur, Sarah went to work on his eye after numbing it with a topical anesthetic. In just a few minutes she had removed the epithelium layer of cells, created the “grid”?for new healthy epithelium cells to grab onto, and then covered Wilbur’s eye with a contact lens to protect it during the healing process. We went home with different eye meds for this particular problem — one that is given four times a day, the other three times a day.

For Wilbur, however, this “particular problem” is actually the cone he is required to wear at all times. Once back home that evening, he whined and whined so loudly we knew we’d never get any sleep if we left him in the living room for the night. So we set up a new “boat” for him (an open crate filled with bedding) in Widget’s Room (yes, still and forever known as her room) on the second floor?in the dog wing.

Now, a few days into this, he is much less whiney and more accepting about the cone, which comes off only at meal times and for water. The eye seems to be making progress, though it’s hard to know for sure because of the contact lens. We take him back to see Sarah in two weeks. What we haven’t told Wilbur yet is that the cone may have to stay on for up to eight weeks. Uh oh.

—

Shelter Challenge

There is a new Shelter Challenge contest that started last week and ends on August 30th. Since we came in first place in New Hampshire for the last round — thank you again! — we are not eligible to win first place in the same contest this time, though we are eligible for one of the weekly prizes if we get sufficient votes in a given week.

 

Comments

  1. Barb Ribinski says

    August 24, 2015 at 11:32 am

    Oh, no. Poor baby. Look at that face. He doesn’t want that cone on. ๐Ÿ™ It can’t be easy for the little guy to sleep with it. I like the boat idea though, lots of soft stuff for him to get comfortable in. Here’s hoping that he heals quickly and can get that bad cone off before eight weeks.

  2. Leila King says

    August 24, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Ah, sweet little Wilbur (I still love that name!!). Praying he heals quickly and completely. Thanks for keeping us informed.

  3. Colleen & sweet kitty Andre says

    August 24, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Poor Wilbur!!! I hope his healing is very fast & won’t have to wear the cone for so long. Of course, Widget’s room is named appropriately forever!!!

  4. Tonya Allen says

    August 24, 2015 at 4:40 pm

    Poor Wilbur! Life in The Cone is just not fun. At least he gets prime accommodations while he’s healing.

  5. betsy says

    August 24, 2015 at 5:46 pm

    Poor Wilbur! I am reminded of the movie “Up” ( I think it was that movie) where the dog said “I do not like the cone of shame.”

  6. MaryJane Cooper says

    August 24, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    I hesitate to even ask this, but have you tried the padded E-Collar, or is it too easy for a dog to get it off? It worked on my Doxies when I used it a couple of times.

    • Steve Smith says

      August 24, 2015 at 9:18 pm

      Mary Jane, yes, we have the padded soft collars, too, but for this kind of eye issue, the hard plastic collars are the most secure and protective.

  7. Lisa Cepluch says

    August 24, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    Oh Wilbur, as soon as I saw the “cone of shame” I knew you were not a happy guy.
    Hope that eye does decide to heal up (and sooner than 8 weeks)! We love you!

  8. patty c says

    August 24, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    Oh no, poor Wilbur! Hang in there, buddy, it’s for your own good (even if it doesn’t seem that way right now). :o)

  9. Linda says

    August 24, 2015 at 10:32 pm

    Sweet baby – darn that thing anyway!!! And 7 rounds of meds. I hope he gets to feeling much better soon!

  10. Diane Borden, Chehalis, WA says

    August 25, 2015 at 9:35 am

    Oh my, it’s gonna be a LONG 8 weeks. And quite frankly, I think it will be longer for the humans than little Wilbur! Hang in there ya’ll!!

  11. Shirley and James says

    August 25, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    Poor Wilbur and you two are the best and caring for each and everyone of these special need doggies. Wilbur is so darling. Hope all heals well sweet Wilbur. xoxoxoxoxxo

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