Cataracts- Dewey

Dewey Offutt

Star sign: Virgo. But Dewey may be the most laid back contented Virgo ever!!

Interests: Dewey loves any game involving water, runs on the beach and most of all taking care of his best mate Donna.

Best feature: His warm, friendly and understanding nature.

Dewey Offutt’s outlook on life was fogging up, literally!! His owner Donna noticed a white cloudiness appear in Dewey’s left eye and brought him in to see us. Dewey was promptly diagnosed with a cataract and so we referred him to Animal Eye Services in Brisbane for further treatment. After extensive eye vision testing, Dewey’s diagnosis was that he had a mature cataract in his left eye but all the other structures in his eye were fine, so he was a candidate for cataract surgery

A cataract is when the, usually clear, structure deep within the eye called the lens becomes opaque. The lens allows light into the eye and focuses an image onto the retina, at the back of the eye. The same process happens inside a camera, with the lens focusing an image onto the film in the back of the camera. Having a camera with a foggy lens is somewhat similar to having a cataract—both produce very cloudy images!

There are many causes of cataracts, and often its hard to pinpoint the cause, in Dewey’s case it was very likely just a chance knock to the head during a game. Often the causes of cataracts are genetic, but diabetes, injuries, inflammation, drugs and nutrition may also be to blame. The main sign of cataracts is a white area in your dog’s pupil (the black circle in the middle of the eye), but you may also notice reduced vision (seen as an increase in “clumsiness”), or a reluctance to go into the dark.

Surgery is currently the only treatment for removal of a cataract. If cataracts are not removed inflammation inside the eye can occur causing pain and glaucoma – but that’s a whole other critter chat! Dewey’s treatment involved inserting a microscopic vacuum and ultrasound into his lens to break up and remove the diseased lens, then a new artificial lens was implanted into his lens capsule. Incredible!! Dewey’s had a basically instant return of full vision upon waking from surgery and is now back to his joyful self, enjoying life with a clearer outlook on life.