Shadow is a super-friendly, carefree, cuddle-loving apricot Labraspoodle. He’s also a VIP member of the Pet Magazine team. I’m confident you can guess which three breeds he is descended from, and that you have also deduced that he’s a young dog, as these popular cross-breeds are a recent addition to the world of dogs.

A few months back, Shadow pranced into our clinic sporting some really sore eyes. He had been harshly
disciplined by the cats that run the home in which he and his owners are allowed to reside. His mum reported a milky
discharge visible from both eyes since he had been cat-batted across his unsuspecting woolly face the day before.

 

His right eyelid had swollen significantly and he was understandably a little annoyed by it all. We gently checked that the corneas had no dangerous scratches across their surface, which can lead to blindness. Once assured of this with the use of special dyes, we treated the traumatic conjunctivitis with a topical antibiotic and anti-inflammatory.

 

Several days later, our teenage star patient charged back in for his check-up, albeit it with a slight suspicion that I may have to play around with his sore eye again. His love of treats soon overcame any hesitation. What was apparent was that, despite the medication resolving the cat-scratch infection and subsequent messy discharge, Shadow’s eye problems were far from over. The swollen right eyelid was now rolling inwards and
rubbing persistently across the front of this eye’s cornea. A very painful, and potentially very damaging, scenario
was unfolding. In place of a thick mucky discharge, a clear overflow of tear-staining was now streaming down his face.

 

Shadow had a mild case of what we call congenital Entropion, which had been worsened by the cat-fight trauma to that area
of his face. He had been born with too much skin around his right eye. This problem wasn’t going to go away with topical

medication; he was going to need some careful plastic surgery.

 

Shadow was admitted for surgery and ‘put under’ on a floaty cocktail of morphine, Propofol and isofluorane anaesthetics. After reluctantly removing some of his curlyapricot locks we prepped and draped the area around the eye.

Planning is crucial to ensure just the right amount of skin is removed from the lower eyelid. The shape of the resection is
visualised in advance and then cutting begins, using a Hotz-Celsus technique. Any bleeding vessels are addressed with
a tiny hot cautery probe and the curved strip of skin and underlying tissue is carefully lifted from the site and removed.
Minute skin sutures are then placed to bring the new edges of skin together and to create traction on the eyelid margin.

This pulls the eyelid back into a normal, vertical position and off the irritated cornea. Success!

 

We shaved both eyelids to allow close examination and confirm no need for any procedures on the other eye. Shadow
was then monitored closely during recovery and sent home that afternoon with a large plastic collar to prevent scratching
of the sutures. The collar and the shaved eye-patches created a masked super-dog effect that I’m sure Shadow appreciated
as much as we did. The eyelid healed beautifully and I’m pleased to say Shadow suffers no more discomfort as he goes

about his important daily duties of seeking pats and snacks from his colleages at Pet Magazine.

 

Entropion is an uncomfortable, sometimes painful, condition in which the animal’s eyelids roll inward, allowing the eyelashes (or other hair) to rub against the cornea and irritate it. The upper and/or lower eyelids can be involved, and the condition can occur

in either one eye or both.

 

An animal with Entropion will squint and have an excessive amount of tears coming from the affected eye. Some animals will be sensitive to light and will rub at their eyes, particularly when they’re outside. Some animals will produce a mucous-like discharge from the eyes.

 

In some animals, Entropion is never more than a minor annoyance, but in others it can cause painful ulcers and erosions that result in scarring and affect the vision. While any dog can have Entropion, there is often a genetic factor. Your veterinarian can diagnosis Entropion through an ocular exam. Medical treatment with antibiotic ointments can decrease damage to the cornea, but it cannot resolve the Entropion itself. To fix the eyelid, surgery is needed.

 

Prognosis is excellent, if surgery is performed before the cornea is damaged.