nickojoy Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 My nearly 3yo Stafford has Distichiasis in both eyes, but it irritates his left eye to the point at 6 months of age he rubbed it so much he got a cherry eye and a ulcer. The Ulcer has left scaring on his eye and he is partially blind. I got my referral from my vet today to take him to Sash Vets at North Ryde and to make an appointment to see Dr Mark Bilson. Has anyone ever had dealings with this vet? Just wondering if they were all good and how much I am looking at when he gets booked in to have both is eyes done. For those that don't know what it is. Distichiasis Sometimes the condition is referred to as a double row of eyelashes, for extra hairs arise from the edge of the eyelid to rub against the corneal surface. The effects are variable and mild irritation to corneal ulceration will be seen. Treatment is extremely difficult and invariably involves surgery to remove the hair roots permanently. Plucking out the offending hairs is useful, but requires the maximum cooperation of the patient! Of course it is followed by hair regrowth, and many surgical techniques have been invented to remove the roots. Even then success is difficult to achieve, and the dog may have to suffer this condition throughout its life. It is the most common eye defect found in the Stafford in South Africa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purpley Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I think Shoemonster has replied in the stafford thread a couple of times to you now about this, as she has had first hand knowledge with her stafford Molly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickojoy Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 I think Shoemonster has replied in the stafford thread a couple of times to you now about this, as she has had first hand knowledge with her stafford Molly. Hey Isiss, I was wondering about this though: I got my referral from my vet today to take him to Sash Vets at North Ryde and to make an appointment to see Dr Mark Bilson. Has anyone ever had dealings with this vet? Just wondering if they were all good and how much I am looking at when he gets booked in to have both is eyes done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Distichiasis Sometimes the condition is referred to as a double row of eyelashes, for extra hairs arise from the edge of the eyelid to rub against the corneal surface. The effects are variable and mild irritation to corneal ulceration will be seen. Treatment is extremely difficult and invariably involves surgery to remove the hair roots permanently. Plucking out the offending hairs is useful, but requires the maximum cooperation of the patient! Of course it is followed by hair regrowth, and many surgical techniques have been invented to remove the roots. Even then success is difficult to achieve, and the dog may have to suffer this condition throughout its life. It is the most common eye defect found in the Stafford in South Africa. I wouldn't agree with these statements. http://www.animaleyecare.com.au/aec/extralasheseyecond.html All the best with Kyran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickojoy Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 Distichiasis Sometimes the condition is referred to as a double row of eyelashes, for extra hairs arise from the edge of the eyelid to rub against the corneal surface. The effects are variable and mild irritation to corneal ulceration will be seen. Treatment is extremely difficult and invariably involves surgery to remove the hair roots permanently. Plucking out the offending hairs is useful, but requires the maximum cooperation of the patient! Of course it is followed by hair regrowth, and many surgical techniques have been invented to remove the roots. Even then success is difficult to achieve, and the dog may have to suffer this condition throughout its life. It is the most common eye defect found in the Stafford in South Africa. I wouldn't agree with these statements. http://www.animaleyecare.com.au/aec/extralasheseyecond.html All the best with Kyran. So you are saying that the treatment is easy? And you are also saying that the hair will not grow back after his treatment? If the treatment was easy, a normal vet would be able to do the operation, but the vet said they prefer me to go to a specialist, and that there is a chance that the hairs will grow back... Each dog is different... its like cutting out cancer, there still is a chance that it will grow back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 The short stubby hairs which cause the dog the most problems are often quite resistent to the 'easier' lazer treatment options. Surgical removal of the skin (including the hair roots obviously) is the only "guaranteed" method - but unfortunately because of the cyclic nature of hair growth there is no guarantee the vet can remove all the hairs in the same operation. I have no knowledge of the vet nicki - but good luck to Kyran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) Surgical treatment of distichiasis is fiddly and time consuming and requires very high magnification (ie. an operating microscope). Most general vets do not have an operating microscope, which is one of the main reasons for referral. Using the TCE method, we cut out the base of each individual hair root, so that it cannot grow back again. At any one time up 10-15% of the hair roots are inactive (ie. do not have a hair growing from them), and therefore cannot be seen. We cannot cut out what we cannot see, even with very high magnification. Therefore, in 10-15% of cases, a second surgery is required. In 20 years, I have only seen a handful of dogs that needed a third surgery, and I have never seen one needing a fourth surgery. TCE is the preferred method of extra eyelash removal as it seems to provide the best results. ETA: We do about 5 extra eyelash surgeries a week. Edited November 12, 2009 by Elfin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickojoy Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 So he 'may' need to go back, depending. What price do you think I am looking at Elfin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 So he 'may' need to go back, depending.What price do you think I am looking at Elfin? Depends on how many eyelids are involved (the more lids, the more time it takes to do. Four lids can take two hours). Roughly anywhere from $800-$1200. If you need the surgery done again, it is discounted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickojoy Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 So he 'may' need to go back, depending.What price do you think I am looking at Elfin? Depends on how many eyelids are involved (the more lids, the more time it takes to do. Four lids can take two hours). Roughly anywhere from $800-$1200. If you need the surgery done again, it is discounted. Lucky I still have my own savings account, no one tell my OH Do I have to go back to the specialist for a check up? Or can I go to my own vet? Its a hour drive from home and my vet is 100meters walk from my house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 We normally have two post-operative checks that are included in the surgery fee. The first is 7-10 days after surgery to make sure any swelling has resolved and the wounds are healing well. You local vet could probably do this. The second is at 3 months, at which stage any "new" hairs should be apparent, as the life-cycle of the eyelash is about three months. I would recommend a specialist doing this one, again for equipment reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie-boy Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) So you are saying that the treatment is easy? And you are also saying that the hair will not grow back after his treatment?If the treatment was easy, a normal vet would be able to do the operation, but the vet said they prefer me to go to a specialist, and that there is a chance that the hairs will grow back... Each dog is different... its like cutting out cancer, there still is a chance that it will grow back. My George had surgery for the same condition compounded with mild entropion about 12 months ago. His eyes will never be perfect but they are 110% on what they were and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. We were lucky in that the hairs were only causing irritiation and occasional infection rather than lasting scarring or ulceration. I paid about $1700 for the surgery as I opted to go with an eye specialist rather than a GP vet but the specialist did say that most GP vets are more than capable of the surgery. Like I said - I opted for the specialist as that is what they do and they have the proper equipment. George had dissolving stitches which literally fell out 2 weeks later and eye cream was the only other thing I had to do. I took George back to my regular vet as the specialist was a travelling one and he was more than happy for me to do so. Edited November 12, 2009 by Georgie-boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfin Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 [My George had surgery for the same condition compounded with mild entropion about 12 months ago. His eyes will never be perfect but they are 110% on what they were and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. George had dissolving stitches which literally fell out 2 weeks later and eye cream was the only other thing I had to do. I took George back to my regular vet as the specialist was a travelling one and he was more than happy for me to do so. Georgie-boy, I am glad your dog is so much happier. All our clients comment on how much happier the dog is after surgery. The sutures would have been for the entropion surgery, as extra-eyelash surgery (if done by TCE) does not use any sutures. We always use dissolving sutures around the eyes, as trying to take out non-dissolving sutures that close to the eye can be tricky on a wriggly dog!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 One of my fosters had distichia treated with a combination of laser & cryo, with only a couple of hairs coming back later that needed a 2nd treatment. fifi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I got my referral from my vet today to take him to Sash Vets at North Ryde and to make an appointment to see Dr Mark Bilson.Has anyone ever had dealings with this vet? Just wondering if they were all good and how much I am looking at when he gets booked in to have both is eyes done. Most of our specialist referrals are to SASH - I have only heard good things back from clients regarding Mark. I have not met him personally, but have spoken to him several times and always found him very approachable and helpful - the same can be said for the whole team there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periannath Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Mark treated my dog after being recommended by Bruce Robertson, the head of the ACES scheme.It was an emergency situation and he was the only eye specialist in Sydney that would give up his long weekend to come in and treat her immediately. He saved her eye and I have since learnt that many dogs that have had the same condition as mine & treated else where were not so lucky. I'm sure your dog will be in the very best of hands. Good luck and I hope the op goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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