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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Cataract surgery in dogs leads to better eye outcomes than no

By Lim, Christine C et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2011·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Canada·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Cataracts in 44 dogs (77 eyes): A comparison of outcomes for no treatment, topical medical management, or phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of dogs with cataracts had their treatment outcomes compared after receiving no treatment, just medication, or surgery to remove the cataracts. The study found that untreated eyes always failed, while those that had surgery showed much better success rates. Dogs that only received medication had a higher failure rate compared to those that underwent surgery. Overall, surgery was the most effective option for treating cataracts in dogs. If you notice your dog has cloudy eyes, it's best to consult your vet about surgery as soon as possible.

People also search for: dog cataracts treatment · surgery for dog cataracts · dog eye problems cloudy vision

Abstract

Outcomes for 77 cataractous eyes were compared after each eye underwent no treatment, topical medical treatment only, or phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation. Median follow-up time for all dogs was 2.3 y. Failure occurred in all untreated eyes and the rate of failure was 65 and 255 times higher than in medically and surgically treated eyes, respectively. The failure rate was 4 times higher in dogs receiving only medical treatment compared with dogs that received surgery. Across all groups, the success rate for mature and hypermature cataracts was lower than for immature cataracts. Regardless of cataract stage, the chance of success was higher for eyes undergoing phacoemulsification than for eyes that received medical management only. Results of this study support prompt referral for phacoemulsification when cataracts are diagnosed in dogs or, if referral is not possible, topical anti-inflammatory therapy.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21629421/