Dog with cataracts
Discussion
Hi all,
My parents terrier has cataracts in both eyes, so can hardly see. She's a rescue dog, and seems to have had about 5 or 6 homes before finally landing at my mum and dads. We don't know how old she is, due to all the previous homes, but she adores my Dad, and follows him around everywhere. Because we don't know how old she is, we don't know how much longer she will have left, and whether it's really worthwhile having them removed. We think she's about 10 or 12, generally pretty healthy, although she doesn't want long walks anymore, but that may be because she can't see.
The vets say there is a chance the cataracts are attached to the retina, in which case she'll be completely blind, instead of almost blind. The other thing is the vets reckon it's going to cost around £1700 per eye to have the cataracts removed, which I think is an awful lot of money, especially as she might not be around for that much longer to make the op worth it.
All views welcome, the floor is open.
My parents terrier has cataracts in both eyes, so can hardly see. She's a rescue dog, and seems to have had about 5 or 6 homes before finally landing at my mum and dads. We don't know how old she is, due to all the previous homes, but she adores my Dad, and follows him around everywhere. Because we don't know how old she is, we don't know how much longer she will have left, and whether it's really worthwhile having them removed. We think she's about 10 or 12, generally pretty healthy, although she doesn't want long walks anymore, but that may be because she can't see.
The vets say there is a chance the cataracts are attached to the retina, in which case she'll be completely blind, instead of almost blind. The other thing is the vets reckon it's going to cost around £1700 per eye to have the cataracts removed, which I think is an awful lot of money, especially as she might not be around for that much longer to make the op worth it.
All views welcome, the floor is open.
ShampooEfficient said:
It is a lot of money, but is it not covered by pet insurance?
Surely it's worth doing even if she only lives another 6 weeks, to make them as happy as possible for her? (Unless your dad's an ugly git...)
The other problem though is the risk of surgery on an elderly animal. I know plenty of vets are more than good enough to do it, but there is always a risk.Surely it's worth doing even if she only lives another 6 weeks, to make them as happy as possible for her? (Unless your dad's an ugly git...)
I went through a similar experience a couple years ago. One of the family's dogs was diagnosed with cataracts. I went to an eye specialist vet in Edinburgh. He quoted £1500 per eye to remove the cataracts.
As this is a fairly normal operation in humans but with the addition of a new lens, I thought I would look a bit further.
I ended up at the vets at the university in Utrecht, Holland. After 6 months of waiting for the blood tests to be able to travel back into the UK, the dog had an examination at the university in Utrecht. They found that they could operate INCLUDING fitting of a new lens. I ended up doing 1 eye and was charged €900.
So, a fair bit of travelling and stress but the dog ended up seeing properly again due to the new lens. The total costs with travelling were similar...
As this is a fairly normal operation in humans but with the addition of a new lens, I thought I would look a bit further.
I ended up at the vets at the university in Utrecht, Holland. After 6 months of waiting for the blood tests to be able to travel back into the UK, the dog had an examination at the university in Utrecht. They found that they could operate INCLUDING fitting of a new lens. I ended up doing 1 eye and was charged €900.
So, a fair bit of travelling and stress but the dog ended up seeing properly again due to the new lens. The total costs with travelling were similar...
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