Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pigmented iris spots and surgery outcomes in young dogs
By Dufour, Valerie Liliane et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2025·Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical descriptive and long-term outcome of melanocytic uveal lesions in young dogs: 40 cases (45 eyes) including 13 cases of sector iridectomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of young dogs, including many Labrador and German shepherds, were found to have pigmented lesions on their irises. Some of these dogs underwent a surgical procedure called sector iridectomy to remove the lesions, while others were simply monitored without surgery. The dogs that had surgery experienced some minor complications but maintained good vision and comfort for over six years afterward. Interestingly, the dogs that did not have surgery also did well, showing no complications for up to 4.5 years. This suggests that while surgery can be beneficial for certain cases, careful monitoring can also be a safe option.
People also search for: dog eye problems · pigmented iris lesion in dogs · sector iridectomy for dogs · Labrador eye lesions · German shepherd eye surgery
Abstract
PURPOSE: To describe the clinical features surgical technique, early and long-term outcome with or without surgery, and histopathological findings of melanocytic anterior uveal lesions in young dogs. METHODS: Medical records of dogs at a guide dog facility removed from training due to a pigmented iris lesion were reviewed from 2014 to 2021. Selected dogs had surgical iridectomies performed. RESULTS: Iridal melanocytic lesions were characterized as well-delineated, pigmented, and flat (nevus) or raised (mass) lesions of the iris. Forty dogs (18 Labrador retrievers, 18 German shepherd dogs, 1 Golden retriever, 3 Labrador/Golden mixes) ranging from 0.5 to 3.1 years of age were affected unilaterally (n = 35) or bilaterally (n = 5). Sector iridectomy was performed in 13 dogs with prominent and well-isolated mass lesion and enucleation was carried out in 2 dogs with extensive lesions, while all other cases were monitored without surgical intervention. Postoperative complications included dyscoria (13/13), focal posterior synechia (9/13) and focal nonprogressive cataract (8/13). All eyes remained visual and comfortable up to 6.2 years post-iridectomy with no clinically identifiable local recurrence. Histopathology was consistent with uveal melanocytoma in all samples obtained surgically. All cases that did not undergo surgery remained free of complications up to 4.5 year post diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Melanocytic anterior uveal lesions may be overrepresented in certain lineages of breeds and be present at a young age. While none of the eyes developed complications when monitored without surgery, early surgical excision of the mass by sector iridectomy yields noteworthy functional outcome and retention of a comfortable globe.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39072884/