Lens Luxation 7yr old Husky Elly

[Altira]

This was my original post: Hi all. I was a active member here with my dog Kira who had Cushings. She died about a year ago. I got lucky again and adopted another husky who has allergic rhinitis and worse yet lens luxation. We are currently doing meds to keep the lens behind the pupil. She is 7 years old, we have had her about eight months. I wondered if anyone knows of a forum for this lens luxation. It's scary. She could become completely blind. Anyway. Hello to any of my old friends who still might be around. Hope all is well.

Nothing has changed. We are still fighting to save her blue eye. I was just wondering if anyone else has experanced this.

I noticed something was up but it didn't bother her at all. I took her to our regular vet. She came out and advised me to see a specialist right away. It was a emergency. Well ok id go right now. Dr Mar came in and said "I would advice removing the eye." My head hit the wall. "What?" Talk about a total shock! She said it was hereditary. The ligaments that hold the lens in her eye gave way and the lens poking thru her pupil. I never heard of such a thing.

[SasAndYunah]

Hi Janis,

I myself did have a lensluxation, years ago, due to my connetive tissue disease...weak ligaments amongst others :)

I canines, to the best of my knowledge (and I am of course no vet) it's not that different.

Let me try and explain to you what I know...

First of all, lensluxations are mostly not hereditary unless it's in terrier breeds. (or, if the dog is suffering from a connetive tissue disorder like Ehlers-Danlos but in that case there would be a whole lot of other problems as well)
The most common reason for a lensluxation is another problem with the eye....which causes the luxation. This could be high pressure of the eye (glaucoma), an infection of the eye, cataract or a blow to the eye. I cannot tell from what you wrote if any of these potential causes were ruled out?

Secondly, it's important to know if the lens luxated to the front of the eye or to the back. If the lens luxated to the fron, this can be rather painfull which you should be able to tell by signs such as squinting with the eye, a teary eye or a red eye. Also, in this position the luxated lens can damage the cornea permanent.

If the lens is luxated to the back of the eye it usually doesnt cause the dog any discomfort at all. It can however obstruct the drainage of fluids and therefore cause glaucoma.

In terms of how it affects the dogs vision, a luxated lens causes a blurred image which doesn't seem to bother them at all :)

If the lens is luxated to the front of the eye, the lens should be removed. The make a tiny cut in the cornea, take the lens out and close the cornea again...nothing too complicated. But of course, before doind the surgery, the dog has to be tested for glaucoma, uveitis and the functioning of the retina. Any problem in those areas will influence the result and healing afterwards. (it is possible to place an artificial lens...)

If the lens is luxated to the back of the eye, surgery is more complicated and so is the risk for complications. So quite often they do not operate (also since the luxation to the back of the eye doesn't cause discomfort to the dog, unlike the luxation to the front) In the case of not operating, the dog will get lifelong medications to keep the pupil small...so the lens wont move to the front of the eye after all. And there is the (small) risk for glaucoma so this should be regularly checked for the rest of the dogs life.

I hope this will help you some,

all our best,

Saskia and Quincy :)

[Altira]

SasandYunah... I really should learn to follow up on my posts! I really didn't expect a reply. I'm ever so greatful for your response! I will elaborate now. This is so complicated, I don't think I can recall it all.

I took Elly to the vet on a Thursday in Nov. (Which was also our 38th wedding anniversary!) They said it was an emergency go see a speacailist right now. So I did... right that minute. Dr. Mar said she had a luxated eye. It looked horrible but she was in no pain. She proposed removal as a good option. I had no idea! My head fell back against the wall and I started to cry. My sweet Elly. Dr. Mar said the glaucoma was secondary to the luxation. I forget which way it luxated. After much discussion she suggested I take Elly to this place that does lazor surgery. So I went there right away, that day. I'd been there before and I got stuck with this Dr. Brinkis that I didn't like but there was no choice. He did some very expensive test and said Elly had NO VISION in that eye and the eye should be removed. Devisted at the days events I made the appointment to have the eye removed on Monday.

Over the next few days I was dudifuly giving Elly eye drops for the glaucoma that Dr. Mar gave us. On Sunday I noticed that Elly's eye looked normal again!!! And good God, I was seeing pupil response as well. This had to be good! I quick left a message for Dr. Brinkis that I would not be doing the eye removal just yet.

Dr. Mar had mentioned something about treating the eye with med's. So I made an appointment with her instead. We saw her on Tuesday. I was very hopeful. Right away Dr. Mar said Elly's eye looks great! I agreed (it looked normal) and we have pupil response too. She said the lens had gone into the back of her eye again and she seemed comfortable. If we can keep it there (trap it there) with meds Elly could keep her eye!!! She and I both believe that Elly has some vision in her blue eye. Legaly blind but not totally.

So since then I have been giving Elly eye drops 5 times a day.
Two of them say to give them every 12 hours. Believe me I'm doing exactly that.
9:00am one drop of Dorzolamide 2% 10ml (for glaucoma)
9:15am one drop of Demecarium Bromide 0.25% 5ml (to shrink her pupil)
9:30am one drop of Neo Poly Dex Ophth Susp. 5ml (and antibiotic I think)
9:00pm another drop of Dorzolamide 2% 10ml
9:15pm another drop of Demecarium Bromide 0.25% 5ml

Dr. Mar said this may or may not work. If Elly becomes painful I'll need to bring her in fast. If we are out driving at 9pm I have to ask my husband to stop so I can give Elly her eye drops. If this doesn't work there's going to be no way that it's my fault! Also there is a chance the other eye might do the same thing!

I spent the next two weeks feeling pretty terrified and making paniced calls to Dr. Mar.

It's now 2 months later and I know better what to look for and the pressure in her blue eye is normal and stable. And the brown eye is showing no sign of a problem yet. And her overall health has been much better.

The thought of my Elly with an eye sewn closed is just horrible. Even worse being blind. She's 7 years old. We have had her for a year. The thing is I have to do these eye drops for the rest of her life. That could be 7 years! Everyday beginning a 9am and again at 9pm. Five drops a day. And you have to wait 15 minutes at least in between each! I have all these alarms going off to remind me. I'm the kind of person who hates to be interrupted. And I can't do it properly without help. Sometimes Bud helps but he really hates it. It's hard for me to tell if I even get anything in her eye. She good about being still but I have to pry her eye open. And my eye sight is pretty bad. Anyway... thanks for listening to my night mare...

[SasAndYunah]

Hi Janis,

glad to learn that eventually it was the best possible outcome in this situation :) With the medication you can keep that lens in the back of the eye and control the glaucoma... All my best to you and Elly,

Saskia :)