Corneal Causes for Blindness

[Kobisdad524]

My 3 month old puppy was born blind. I got him two days ago and took him to the vet yesterday. She said the problem is not cataracts, but rather in the corneas. Both of his eyes are very cloudy looking. She did a "cotton test" whereby she let cotton drop in front of his eyes and he did not respond. She believes he cannot see anything. She is thinking that he may have been exposed to a virus and that has caused the problem. I have an appointment with the ophthalmologist on Monday, but wondered if anyone heard of this before, and if corneal transplants would help. I'm also wondering what to ask the ophthalmologist, so any advice is appreciated.
Kobi's Dad

[Dan Sims, DVM]

Your Veterinarian is giving you good advice as a virus could be responsible for the corneal opacity.
I would ask the ophthalmologist what his success rate is with corneal transplants is and consider a university for the surgery as well.
I'd like to know the outcome of this case.
good luck to you

[Kobisdad524]

Thank you for your advice. I brought Kobi to Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston today to see the ophthalmologist. Essentially, he is completely blind in the left eye, and they believe he has minimal but poor vision in the right eye. They suspect some hypoxic event in utero, perhaps malnutrition of his mother or a virus, was responsible for this birth defect. Also his left eye is smaller than the right. The concern going forward is glaucoma, uveitis, and retinal detachment. There is some pupillary response in the right eye, so his optic nerve is working somewhat, but they cannot determine retinal detachment until he is a bit older. We go back in 3 months for a follow-up.

We asked about corneal transplants since our vet thought this could be a possibility, but the opthamologist said transplants wouldn't help his condition. I was confused with a lot of the language that the doctor used, and I tried to understand it the best I could, but I still don't exactly know why corneal transplants won't help him. He did say something about the iris and the cornea separating, but I can't be more specific than that, and I don't know what that means. I left feeling that he understood what was going on with Kobi, but I still don't. Basically, the opthamologist said there really is nothing to do to allow him to see, and I think he thinks that's all I wanted to know. When I asked more questions, he answered them in a way I just didn't understand, and I'm an educated person...LOL.

The actual diagnosis on his medical report, most of which I don't understand, is as follows:

Diagnosis: Multiple ocular anomalies (MOA). Microphthalmos left eye with vision loss. Adherent leukoma, both eyes with iridocorneal persistent pupillary membranes, superior quadrants. Suspect some retinal dysplasia.

The full report is in a pdf format so I can't copy and paste it, but it has more specifics of the exam, all of which is incomprehensible to me.

I will definitely follow up in 3 months as suggested, but I'm not sure I'll go back to Angell Memorial. I think I need someone who has the time to actually explain to me what is wrong with his eyes. Additionally, I own a home in Sebastian, FL, and may be there by then. In that case, I'll be looking for an opthamologist in the Melbourne to Vero Beach area, and wonder if you might have any suggestions given that you practice there. Any referrals you might have would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Kobisdad

[SandmanRising]

I feel for your plight as I have a Boxer whose recovering from an ulcerated cornea and the vet wasn’t too optimistic as it had initially grown rapidly, it’s genetically disposed to them and she’s 6 YO.  A dye test confirmed the condition, they scraped the eye surface to remove dead cells and allow the blood vessels to grow across and heal itself.  Using a centrifuge, they separated the serum from the blood cells and she received those every 3 hours or so to promote blood vessel growth and in between that, an antibiotic drop and a pill for inflammation and pain.  She has been on a high protein NATURAL diet, nothing artificial as my Pit Bull has numerous food allergies.  I use Eukanamba and California Natural as they add additional nutritional supplements like sunflower oil, which is a great antioxidant removing toxins from their body, just like it does on us.  It’s pricey, but vet bills are much more costly in the long run.  

I did some research and this is the only college/university that has a DVM program in MA and in case you don’t know, it’s a highly respected private institution (they can be selective), one of the Ivy League schools that rank up there with Harvard near by, Yale and Princeton.  I wish you well.  

http://www.uscollegesearch.org/tufts-university.html  In Arlington NW of Boston