Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Healing outcomes of diamond burr treatment for dog corneal ulcers
By Dacanay-DeFebo, Samantha et al.·Published in Veterinary ophthalmology·2026·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Retrospective Comparison of Diamond Burr Debridement as a Treatment for Non-Healing Ulcers Associated With Spontaneous Chronic Corneal Epithelial Defects, Corneal Endothelial Degeneration, and Other Concurrent Ocular Diseases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought in for a persistent corneal ulcer that wasn't healing. The veterinarian performed a diamond burr debridement, a procedure that helps remove damaged tissue from the eye. This treatment worked well for the dog's condition, with an 88% success rate for similar cases, but dogs with corneal endothelial degeneration (CED) or other eye issues had lower healing rates and were more likely to need additional treatments. Overall, the dog showed improvement after the procedure, but ongoing monitoring was necessary to ensure complete healing.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine if superficial corneal ulcers related to corneal endothelial degeneration (CED) or other concurrent ophthalmic disease (COD) had significantly different healing outcomes and incidences of complications post-diamond burr debridement (DBD) compared to spontaneous chronic corneal epithelial defects (SCCEDs) undergoing DBD. PROCEDURES: Retrospective review of 151 dogs (155 eyes) with non-healing, superficial corneal ulcers that underwent a DBD. Variables evaluated included age, sex, breed, concurrent diseases, days to healing, complications, and vision status. Group 1 included dogs with true SCCEDs. Group 2 was subdivided into Group 2A and 2B, dogs with CED and COD-related ulcers, respectively. RESULTS: A single DBD was effective in 88% of SCCEDs, 55% of CED-associated ulcers, and 72% of COD-associated ulcers at the first recheck exam at 2 weeks. There was no difference in keratomalacia following the procedure between group 1 and 2A (p = 0.34) and no cases of keratomalacia occurred in group 2B. Additional procedures were required in 12% of SCCEDs, 44% of CED-associated ulcers, and 28% of COD-associated ulceration to facilitate healing. CONCLUSION: A single DBD is an effective treatment for SCCEDs and can be effective for CED and COD associated ulcers; however, CED and COD associated ulcers are more likely to require repeated DBD or additional procedures to facilitate healing.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40494648/