Cataract surgery for diabetic dog?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Update on Jimmy, our mini-poodle/mini-Aussie mix who was diagnosed about a year ago with diabetes.

The good news: the possible neuropathy that was making him "weird" (scared of his water bowl and certain areas of the floor) seems to have abated. The bad news: the cataracts came on with a vengeance and now his sight is extremely limited. The good news: he's a smart guy and he's learning new vocal commands from his "seeing-eye-human" (me). "Be careful" means there's something in his path that he could stumble over - and he hits the brakes and proceeds cautiously. "Step up" and "step down" help him know what to expect. Stuff like that.

He's 9 years old and still playful and happy. Has anyone ever had cataract surgery for their dog? Does diabetes affect the outcome of cataract surgery? While I think he could live a happy life as a blind dog - if he would benefit from having at least one cataract removed, I would be willing to pay the probably-steep price of surgery, provided that it had a pretty good success rate.

Thanks!

[the_bear_II]

Our 6 year old Keeshond ended up with diabetes. She lived until she was 8.

She went blind right away, I had to give her daily insulin shots. She ended up losing all of her fur due to the stress of it all. I was able to buy a small coyote skin at Quartzsite and fitted it to her to keep her warm. Folks would mistake for an actual coyote when I was walking her.

We took her camping with us. I always kept her on a 10 foot chain in the campsite. It was amazing how quickly she would scout an area and realize where obstacles were. I would only have to walk her to her water and food bowls once and she would be able to find them on her own.

We had another Keeshond and I would hook the two together with an 18 inch leash and then use the longer leash on the dog that could see. That's how we would take walks. She had her own seeing eye dog and human.

I could tell that she enjoyed her life right up until the end. We knew when it was time to let her go peacefully due to health complications from the diabetes.

[SidecarFlip]

Our 10 year old 'pup' has been diabetic for 5 years now (30 units of Humalin 2 times a day) and the cataracts came on pretty quickly. She still has limited sight but her nose and ears have become her 'eyes'. Dogs are very adaptable. We considered surgery as well ( cost wasn't a consideration though it was north of 5 grand for both peepers) but she has adapted well. She's in her twilight years anyway and very dependent on us. No issue. Her hind is giving out (diabetes is concurrent with congestive heart failure) so she goes at her own speed and requires us to get her rear end up so she can motor along once in a while, but getting more frequent now.

She gets accupuncture twice a month plus a B12 shot, plus her insulin, plus all her pills. It's very expensive maintenance but we can well afford it, besides, she is our kid and she will tell us when it's time for her to leave us.

No more pups for us. Neither of us can deal with the heartbreak of loosing a valued member of our family.

Cataract surgery is expensive with no guarantee of recurrence and diabetes in a canine can be controlled but never totally under control so surgery is (in our opinion and our Vet's) not a good option.

[Scottiemom]

Duchess, our Scottish Terrier developed diabetes last December. It is a massive struggle to get the sugar under control even with monitoring. She went into a deep depression from the developing cataracts, so we inquired just last month about surgery. We took her to an opthomologist recommended by our long time vet.

First off, he would not do surgery until we get the sugar at 200 or below sustained. That has not happened even yet. Not because the cataracts will recur, but it is dangerous to have surgery when the diabetes is not controlled. . . same as with humans.

He said there would be a day of testing to determine if the surgery is likely to be successful. That day costs in the neighborhood of $600 and requires general anesthetic so they can "map" the eye. Surgery, if warranted, would be a couple weeks later to avoid putting them under twice in close proximity.

We asked specifically and he said the cataracts would not return if we chose to have surgery. There are several followups: 24 hours, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, etc. For fulltimers about to head south, this did not work for us. They did give us a list of other qualified surgeons around the country.

The cost was about $3800. No point in just doing one eye because to add a second eye to the first one is only a couple hundred dollars. Obviously, most of the cost is in the hospitalization, anesthetic, monitoring, etc., so it doesn't make sense to do just one.

He said if she is a good candidate, it would make a big difference in how she can see. I would really like to do it for her, but she is 11 1/2 years old and as yet, we haven't got her sugar down. Of late she seems to be doing better. . . doesn't seem to be as depressed. The big change is she doesn't like to go out at night. Since she still has light perception, going out at night is just pitch black to her. She does go out on a leash and I used a bright flashlight which I shine on the ground in front of her.

Do take your dog to an eye doctor. Ours gave us drops to put in her eyes to reduce the incidence of inflammation that can occur with cataracts.

Oh, I did ask him about the drops that dissolve cataracts. I don't think they are available yet, but he said they haven't proven to do what they profess. And I read and the doctor confirmed that they must be started BEFORE the cataracts start. The idea is they prevent the cataracts from starting and will do nothing once they are there.

Hope this helps.

Dale

[MNGeeks61]

We looked into it for our dachshund - but the doctors stated as long as his diabetes was not fully controlled, there was a chance the cataracts would come back. Unfortunately we fought with his blood levels for over a year so we never had the chance to remove even one cataract before he passed away two weeks ago due to congestive heart failure and Cushing's complications.

While he was blind, he was very smart and we attempted to train him "left" "right" "straight". We also had runners placed around so he knew where he was. He adapted quite well, he could barely see anything - mostly light and dark. He was happy and enjoyed golf cart rides - in other words, his sense of smell became even more dominant.

The costs which we researched briefly was around 1500-1800 per eye I believe.

[bgum]

LSU has developed a "nano drop" to cure cataracts. It is in the development stage and has not been tested on human beings yet. Per the write up drops are put in the eye for one week and the cataract is dissolved. You may want to contact someone there.

[darsben1]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
Update on Jimmy, our mini-poodle/mini-Aussie mix who was diagnosed about a year ago with diabetes.

The good news: the possible neuropathy that was making him "weird" (scared of his water bowl and certain areas of the floor) seems to have abated. The bad news: the cataracts came on with a vengeance and now his sight is extremely limited. The good news: he's a smart guy and he's learning new vocal commands from his "seeing-eye-human" (me). "Be careful" means there's something in his path that he could stumble over - and he hits the brakes and proceeds cautiously. "Step up" and "step down" help him know what to expect. Stuff like that.

He's 9 years old and still playful and happy. Has anyone ever had cataract surgery for their dog? Does diabetes affect the outcome of cataract surgery? While I think he could live a happy life as a blind dog - if he would benefit from having at least one cataract removed, I would be willing to pay the probably-steep price of surgery, provided that it had a pretty good success rate.

Thanks!

I do not have a dog but had a cat with diabetes. The cost of the surgery was negotiable I remember the surgery on the cats mouth was quoted at $2600.00 but being an older cat I did not want to spend that much for a surgery that would not cure anything. The animal hospital offered to do the surgery for $1400 which we paid. UNfortunately the cat died shortly after of other complications.