Eddie presented to Southdown Animal Clinic for his initial puppy examination and vaccinations at 14 weeks of age. On physical examination our primary concerns included his eyes and his nostrils. Eddie had shallow eye orbits causing exophthalmos (bulging of the eyes) such that he was unable to close his eyelids. Since he was unable to close his eyelids his corneas were exposed at all times to the environment leading to abrasions on the surface of the eyes, redness of the conjunctiva and dryness of the surface of the eye. There was also minimal tear production in both eyes. Eddie had stenotic nares (narrow nasal openings) leading to difficulty with breathing. Eddie was started on medications to treat the abrasions on his corneas and to keep the eyes lubricated.
Eddie was scheduled for surgery. We elected to do multiple procedures – neuter, stenotic nares correction and eyelid surgery. Check out our other posts for details on stenotic nares surgery. For surgical correction of the eyes we elected to do a tarsorrhaphy, which is a surgical procedure in which the upper and lower eyelids are partially sewn together to narrow the eyelid opening. Once the eyelid opening is narrowed the cornea is able to heal.
As you can see in this photo Eddie’s eye is bulging out of the socket and the upper and lower eyelid are so far apart, hence unable to close.