Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Healing times for nonhealing corneal ulcers in 29 cats
By La Croix, N C et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2001·Bobst Hospital of the Animal Medical Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Nonhealing corneal ulcers in cats: 29 cases (1991-1999).
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old domestic shorthair cat was brought in with a nonhealing corneal ulcer, showing symptoms for about two weeks. The veterinarian treated the ulcer using different methods, including superficial debridement and grid keratotomy. The cat's ulcer healed in about 30 days with debridement alone, while the combination treatment took longer, averaging 42 days. Unfortunately, some cats developed a corneal sequestrum (a piece of dead tissue) after treatment. Overall, while superficial debridement was effective, the additional grid keratotomy did not speed up healing and may have increased the risk of complications.
People also search for: cat corneal ulcer treatment · why is my cat's eye cloudy · cat eye problems healing time
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare mean healing times after debridement, debridement with grid keratotomy, and superficial keratectomy in cats with nonhealing corneal ulcers. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 29 cats with 36 nonhealing corneal ulcers. PROCEDURE: Medical records of cats with nonhealing corneal ulcers were reviewed. Signalment, duration of clinical signs, ophthalmic abnormalities, and response to various treatment protocols were recorded. RESULTS: Mean age of affected cats was 7 years, 8 months. Affected breeds included domestic shorthair (17 cats), Persian (9), Himalayan (2), and Siamese (1). Clinical signs were evident for approximately 2 weeks prior to referral. Both eyes were affected in 4 cats. Mean healing time of ulcers treated with superficial debridement was 30 days. Mean healing time of ulcers treated with superficial debridement and grid keratotomy was 42 days. Superficial keratectomy was performed on 2 eyes and resulted in a healing time of 2 weeks. Formation of a corneal sequestrum was evident in 2 of 21 eyes treated with superficial debridement. Formation of a corneal sequestrum was evident in 4 of 13 eyes treated with superficial debridement and grid keratotomy. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Brachycephalic cats appear to be predisposed to developing nonhealing corneal ulcers. The combination of superficial debridement and grid keratotomy did not decrease mean healing time of nonhealing ulcers, compared with superficial debridement alone. Grid keratotomy may predispose cats with corneal ulcers to develop a corneal sequestrum.
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 on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11280407/