Zeus' Entropion Surgery
- haidinyak
- Dec 25, 2019
- 11 min read
Updated: Dec 26, 2019
Let's start at the beginning shall we. Way back in the summer, as you may remember from a previous blog post, we started dealing with some eye issues with Zeus (you can read about that near the end of the blog post here: https://haidinyak.wixsite.com/website/home/summer-adventures).
At first we noticed his eyes being kept shut tight and becoming very watery and so we went to our vet and found out that he had an eye infection. We started him on drops for that, but it turned out he was allergic to the drops and he ended up scratching his eyes, so back to the vet we went and we were given different drops to try. This was followed by weeks and weeks of vet appointments and checking his eyes and making sure he didn't have any more infections or scratches. Through it all he would keep his eyes shut very tight because he didn't like the drops and they would always be watery and red. Eventually, because of him constantly squeezing his eyes shut tight we soon learned that we were dealing with something even more complicated called Entropion. This is a medical condition where the eyelid rolls inward and causes the eyelashes or hair to cause pain to the eye by scratching it. If left untreated it can lead to corneal ulcers or perforation and in the long run it can lead to scarring and discolouration which could cause a loss of vision. This condition can be hereditary or brought on when there is something painful happening with the eye, this is called Spastic Entropion, and what Zeus has. Some info about Entropion can be found here:
Our poor guy was hurting and I wanted to do what was best for him, but I wanted to try other options before rushing into a surgery. I had done this with my first Dane and his TPLO surgery and looking back I wish I had tried other ways to help him first, as it ended up being his downfall . So we did some non invasive things for Zeus such as different drops, and trying to roll the eyelids back out nightly, but in the end surgery is going to be the only way to fix Zeus' eyes. Surgery. It's such a scary word to me. It means risks, what if's, recovery time, possibility of more issues, and brings back bad memories of what my first Dane went through (you can read about that in a previous blog here: https://titanthegreatdane.blogspot.com/2016/11/we-found-out.html ) But it also means an end to any pain, a fix, a better life and a happier life, and no long term damage to his eyes. So we are going ahead and taking the risk and doing the surgery. According to our vet and many websites I used to research the procedure this is a very common eye issue in a lot of different dog breeds and the procedure is done often by a variety of vets and specialist today. Our vet assured us he had done this before and that Zeus would be okay, but like any mom I was very worried so I tried to make myself as informed as possible and researched as much as I could. I even watched a video of the procedure being done to know what Zeus would be going through and what I could expect him to look like so there would be less of a shock when picking him up. You can watch the video of the procedure being done here, but fair warning it is surgical and graphic:
Zeus' surgery was scheduled pretty quickly as the vet wanted to get Zeus in for a follow up appointment before Christmas, so we booked in for 8am on Dec. 18th, The preparation for the surgery was easy enough, we were told he could not eat anything after 6pm the night before but he could have water. He didn't have to take any medications first or stay at the vet's the night before, thank goodness as I wanted to make sure he got the most snuggles possible before his big day. The next morning I had to wake him up as we usually sleep in until at least 10am and let me tell you, he did not want to get out of bed. Finally after much pestering and more snuggles he was up and out the door. Zeus loves going to the vet, he thinks he is going to see friends and gets excited every time, so once he saw us heading to the car he quickly changed his grumpy mood to a happy one and with that we were off. We got to the vet and with one more quick hug and promise to be back soon I took Zeus inside. The lady at the front is always happy to see him and he went over to her no problem. I signed a form of consent for the surgery and read over the risks of putting my dog under anesthesia, then trying to put the risks out of my head, I handed the leash over. This is one of the worst parts I think, because its that moment of not knowing if that is the last time you are going to see your dog. I hate every time I have to do it and it never gets easier. At first Zeus walked away with the lady fine and happy, but once he realized I wasn't[ behind him like on our walks with Ares, he stopped, turned around, and waited for me. As if to say "come on mom, we are going this way now". That was hard, not to go to him so I just said "it's okay Zeus I'm here" like I do on our walks, and he carried on with the lady. Then I left to play the waiting game for our phone call once surgery was done,
While Zeus was at the vet he was kept pretty busy. He first had a wellness exam to make sure he was going to be okay going into surgery. He also had blood work done which all came back normal. Then he was given his pre-anesthetic sedative as this helps to calm an excited dog in unfamiliar settings. Zeus is very familiar with the vet but I think he was just too excited to see everyone. Once Zeus was calm enough he would be given the anesthesia induction and anesthesia inhalant and surgery would start. For Zeus' surgery he would only be having the bottom eyelids done not the top like the video shows. Basically, they remove a bit of the skin from under the eye, then roll the eyelids out, then stitch the wound up to hold the skin tight and the eyelid pulled out from the eye. Once that is done Zeus would be brought out of his anesthesia and monitored for a few hours to make sure he was doing okay.
Around noon is when the phone finally rang. and my heart jumped, I was so excited to hear any news! The vet said Zeus did very well in surgery and he was resting now, sleeping off the anesthesia, and snoring away. He also said Zeus is a good boy and the staff just love him, and that we could come and pick him up at 5pm. Part of me wondered if they just wanted to keep him a bit longer for their own cuddles but we wanted everything to go well so all we could do was wait. Man does time ever go slow when you want someone to just come home where it's safe. When 5pm finally came and Mike and I were able to pick up Zeus we were both very excited to see him and know how he was doing. As soon as the vet saw us he said he would go and get Zeus as he was anxious to get out of his cage. I can understand that, he is used to a big comfy bed after all. He did warn us that Zeus’ eyes would look swollen and droopy because of the sedation, but that once everything settles down and wears off the skin should tighten up. Next was the best moment of that whole day, out came Zeus! My baby was okay and he ran right to us even though he was a little sedated still, stub wiggles and all! I gave him a big hug and then Mike got his turn with snuggles. I made sure he stayed with Mike while I spoke with the vet about all the after care as I wanted to make sure I paid close attention to every detail so that Zeus heals right the first time. The vet told us he didn’t give Zeus a cone as he had been so good about not scratching and only laying on his stomach. I didn’t really like that because he is very different at home and eventually the stitches would get itchy, but I figured we could try having no cone and if needed we can pull out the old Dane one we had. Next we were given two types of medication. One was an eye drop ointment called Optixcare Eye Health. This is a preventative topical antioxidant that helps prevent inflammation and is to be given twice a day. The other is a pain management medication called Meloxadin. This is to help of course alleviate the pain but also helps by being an anti-inflammatory drug. We were to give this to Zeus with food once a day. For his weight he gets 42kgs per dose, so it was nice that it came with a syringe in the package. Lastly we had to settle up the bill which ended up being less then we were quoted so that was a nice surprise. The total for everything was $905.67 and the bill was broken down as follows:
Basic wellness with CBC - $90.90
Pre-anesthetic sedative - $50.00
Anesthesia induction - $89.00
Anesthesia inhalant - $164.50
Surgery - $276.00
EZ clear collar - $30.00 (which we didn't get and would be refunded for)
Metacam injection - $32.73
Meloxadin oral - $48.84
Optixcare eye health ointment - $19.50
Hospitalization - no charge
Pre-surgical exam - no charge
HST - $104.20
With one final goodbye to the vet and a treat for the road we were all set to go back home. When we got home I quickly realized our first obstacle, Ares' tail. When Zeus came in Ares was so happy to see him and us that his tail was going crazy, and poor Zeus just happens to be the perfect height to get a good solid wack in the face. I made sure to block his tail and had Mike take Zeus aside while I calmed Ares down. This got me thinking about all the other things that could possibly go wrong such as a tree branch from the yard in the eye, or Zeus rubbing up against something like the couch. So it was right off to the basement to bring up Titan’s old cone and put my anxiety at ease. Thankfully it fit around his neck and we had an old collar to use instead of gauze to keep the cone in place, but the cone itself was a little long for Zeus to manage with. At first Zeus really didn’t like this and he tried to bite at it playfully, but eventually he got settled and accepted his cone of shame fate. We noticed he was having trouble getting up and down the stairs so we had to help him with that by lifting his head and cone slightly up while he ran up the stairs. We also noticed he had trouble navigating because of how long the cone was and he would constantly be running into us or walls, or trying to lay on us at night which hurt because of the hard plastic. Thankfully, I remembered that PetSmart sells soft cones, so we got one of those. and it fit Zeus a lot better, he is even able to go up the stairs by himself now. I really like this cone better because it has an opening on the bottom that makes it easy for the dog to eat and drink while wearing the cone instead of having to take the cone on and off every time food is served. I also like that the outer material repels grim and fur while the inside is a soft material for a comfy and cozy experience rather then cold hard plastic. It's also machine washable so not as stinky. You can find a link to that here:
The first night he was very sleepy and ended up just resting. His eyes were very red and swollen as well so we didn’t want him to be too playful and accidentally cause more swelling or rip a stitch. So only rest and outside for short breaks to use the bathroom and only on a leash so that he didn’t get poked in the eyes by any trees.
The next day we woke up and Zeus had slept through the night with his cone on with no problems. First thing we did was clean his eyes with a tissue very gently just to make sure there was no build up on the stitches and nothing in the corner of his eyes. Next was outside for a potty, however, Zeus took this as an opportunity to play and went running while I was holding the leash and the poor boy forgot he had his cone on and quickly figured out he couldn’t pick up his toys or sticks in the snow. So he gave up frustrated and went back inside with no morning pee. I tried to take him out again but he didn’t want to go, so I decided to walk Ares like normal and try again later. While I took Ares out I left Zeus in the family room with a gate up and his cone on so he could look out his window and watch us going and coming back. Once we got back Zeus came running to greet us like normal, so that was a relief and he looked just fine with the cone having stayed on, so I felt more confident about leaving him alone in the future for short periods of time when needed. Next I tried to take Zeus outside again, but the dogs just wanted to play together and Zeus didn’t end up going to the bathroom. At this point I got a little bit worried because there can be urinary retention after a surgery, but I didn’t want to panic without him having something to eat and drink first. I also had to remind myself he hadn't really had anything to eat or drink the day before, so lunch it was. As this would be the first full meal for Zeus with his medication on it I ended up just giving him his meat without any green smoothie to make sure he kept everything down and so that I could hand feed him slowly. He really seemed to like being pampered like that and because there was no green smoothie mess I didn't have to worry about him getting anything into his stitches. Next I decided to try and get some water into his system so I made some ice cubes for him and he gobbled them right up. Then we attempted the much dreaded eye drops. This is an ointment instead of a clear liquid so it’s much easier to apply then the other drops we were doing, however, because Zeus was on drops so long and hates them, this was still tricky to apply. I had to be very patient because I could not open his eyes with my fingers for fear that I would hurt his newly placed stitches. I had to wait for him to slowly open his eyes enough for me to quickly drop some ointment in and then I let him blink the ointment onto the whole eye. Once the meds are all administered we tried going outside again and finally we successfully had a pee! Now that another worry was put to rest we were free to have a little play and then back upstairs to rest and let his body continue to heal. This will be our routine for the next few days until our follow up appointment and then we will see how his progress is going and if we can start some short walks and more play time.
Even though surgery is scary it was worth it. His eyes are no longer tearing up and the white part of his eye is no longer agitated by the fur. We can see his big beautiful brown eyes again and Zeus already seems happier and more expressive, not just squinting all the time. I'm so glad we were able to do this for Zeus, and I just hope these next few weeks fly by so we can get back to normal and enjoy life to the fullest.
Enjoy these quotes that spoke to me and some photos until our next post when I will update with our follow up appointment news.
"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and focus on what could go right"
"Recovery is a process. It takes time. It takes patience It take friends."
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