Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Equine phacoclastic uveitis: the clinical manifestations, light microscopic findings, and therapy of 7 cases.
- Journal:
- The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne
- Year:
- 2000
- Authors:
- Grahn, B H & Cullen, C L
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine · Canada
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This study looked at seven horses with a serious eye condition caused by a ruptured lens, known as phacoclastic uveitis, which can lead to blindness if not treated quickly. When the lens capsule breaks, it can cause various problems like cataracts, changes in eye color, and even holes in the eye. In some cases, the horses showed signs of chronic inflammation and scarring, which made their eyes cloudy and could lead to complete blindness. One horse was successfully treated by removing the damaged lens and using medication to reduce inflammation, but the other horses with ongoing issues had to have their eyes removed because they didn't get better with medication. Overall, while the symptoms in horses are similar to those seen in dogs, cats, and rabbits, the underlying tissue changes are quite different in horses.
Abstract
This retrospective clinical study describes the clinical manifestations, light microscopic findings, and diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic lens rupture in the horse. Rupture of the lens capsule in the horse usually results in a chronic, blinding inflammation (phacoclastic uveitis) unless prompt surgical and medical therapies are implemented. The clinical manifestations of acute lens capsule rupture included: cataract; intralenticular displacement of iridal pigment; lens cortical fragments attached to the perforated lens capsule, iris, and corneal endothelium; miosis; aqueous flare; and usually a corneal or scleral perforation with ulceration or focal full thickness corneal edema and scarring. The clinical signs of chronic phacoclastic uveitis include blindness, phthisis bulbi, and generalized corneal opacification related to scarring, vascularization, pigmentation, and edema. In one horse, acute phacoclastic uveitis was successfully treated with phacoemulsification to remove the ruptured lens and medical therapy to control the accompanying inflammation. The affected eyes of the horses with chronic phacoclastic uveitis were enucleated because of persistent clinical signs of nonulcerative keratitis and uveitis, despite long-term medical management. The clinical manifestations and lack of improvement with medical therapy are similar in the horse, dog, cat, and rabbit. However, the histologic findings in equine phacoclastic uveitis differ significantly from those in the dog, and rabbit.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10816830/