Debridement Of Cow�s Corneal Ulcer

It’s been a long day for us today.

Cow’s corneal ulcer hadn’t got better�(or worse). The Lysine treatment did not work. Neither did the eye-drops.

So I brought Cow to the vet for another evaluation today.

The vet checked and confirmed that the ulcer hadn’t healed at all. It also had not got worse and it’s been weeks now.

We had several options:

1. We could just leave it alone where Cow would have to live with the discomfort.

2. We could go in for the debridement of the ulcer where the vet would clean and debride (rub to “awaken”) the ulcer, to stimulate it to start healing.

3. Other options which follows No. 2 include applying the following:

a. normal saline to flush and wash the eye frequently.

b. Solcoceryl Eye Gel (contains serum) to nourish the eye and promote healing.

c. an antibiotic eyedrop (like Gentamycin) to prevent infection.

4. The third eyelid flap operation (again!).

We discussed and finally decided on No. 2 followed by 3(a) and 3(b). The vet would not use antibiotics unnecessarily and I tend to agree.

Cow would have to be put on mild sedation for the debridement procedure. We would come back to the clinic in the afternoon for it.

So we went home to wait.

Finally the vet called for us.

While Cow was away, Tabs lay on the springy bed for the very first time.

We waiting patiently and finally the clinic called us to take Cow home.

Since Cow was going to be sedated, we had also decided to do bloodwork, test his urine and do an FIV/FeLV test (he’s never been tested all his life).

The FIV/FeLV came out negative (yay!). The urine looked fine except for an abnormality whereby there was more white blood cells than red. This could indicate an inflammation somewhere (but we won’t know where). The rest of the bloodwork results will be out tomorrow.

Now, the eye. �What did the vet see?

Something unexpected…

What we always saw with our naked eye was a small ulcer which refused to heal, but today, under sedation and with a magnifying glass, the vet could see that under that ulcer, there was a larger “flap” (the epitelium) and this flap was practically floating in his eye, already detached.

So the vet had to cut it off.

The hypothesis is that perhaps this flap is the thing that has been preventing the ulcer from healing.

Now that it has been cut off, hopefully healing can begin. The vet said that if all goes right, healing can take place quite fast.

We will take Cow back tomorrow for a check-up.

The vet believes in the principle that wounds heal best when left alone, so all we are going to do is to wash and flush the eye with normal saline to keep it clean. I went to four pharmacies and was unable to get Solcoceryl Eye Gel, so we would have to do without that extra nourishment.

We’re home, Cow!

�It’s been a long day, and now we hope healing can (finally!) begin.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2015/04/15/debridement-of-cows-corne..

Tweet

AnimalCare

AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

More Articles   |   Pets For Adoption   |   Website