Ulcer in eye

[misydimple]

Hi everyone! I have a 9 year old Frenchie who has an ulcer in his eye that won't go away!

The ulcer first appeared in the beginning of December. It took almost a month, several rounds of eye drops (Tobramycin Ophthalmic) and several debridements (with a Q-tip) to start the healing process. He was also given 2 rounds of a serum made from his blood which finally seemed to kick the healing into gear. The healing just seems to be taking so long! My regular vet says it's healing fine and needs more time. To get a 2nd opinion I saw an ophthalmologist. She gave him Tacrolimus (which I was told to stop after 1 day (2 drops) because it irritated his eye..I was charged $70 for it) and Ofloxacin Ophthalmic (charged $30 for it).The ophthalmologist also recommended a recheck in 3 weeks during which she wants to do a debridement with a dremel like tool. The idea of this makes me nervous not to mention the fact that it will also cost $500.

The ophthalmologist told me that she's recently seem several Frenchies with these slow to heal ulcers. Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Honeys Owners]

So sorry to hear about your dog's eye. My dog is blind in one eye with it bulging out and glazed over because of a dog fight before I got her. I haven't had a dog with a corneal ulcer but make sure your dog doesn't scratch his eye by having him wear an e-collar.
This isn't helpful for you but may be for other dog owners in the future:
Tobramycin is a poor first choice of antibiotic for a corneal ulcer since it has a narrow coverage of bacteria, he would have been better off with oxytetracycline/polymyxin B ointment every 4-6 hours or a quinolone like ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin every 2-4 hours for 24 hr then every 4-6 hours.

 

[misydimple]

Thanks for the info. He was given an ointment first but didn't react well to it so they switched it to the Tobramycin. Fortunately it doesn't seem to bother him so he doesn't scratch at it. If I end up having him get the dremel procedure he will need to use a cone/collar. They make me a bit nervous though. I'm afraid he'll strangle or choke himself while I'm at work!

 

[Honeys Owners]

My dog hated the e-collar after her spaying surgery and knocked it off, but fortunately she didn't lick her operated area. I think those collars that look like life preservers are much better tolerated.

 

[Tgirl]

You really shouldn't leave a dog unattended with an e collar on. Is there somewhere you could board him during the day when you are at work? The veterinary hospital where I work does that for people.

 

[2bullymama]

I have no experience but wanted to send some positive vibes and prayers you can get her healedup

 

[bretsabers]

My bulldog had one, the dr gave prescription and it did not worked. I used manuka honey and it was cured after 7 days!!!

 

[Squishy Walnuts]

Wally had an ulcer that wouldn't go away. Same drops, then serum but it wouldn't heal so we went to an eye specialist and he ended up needing surgery to correct it. He wore a plastic e-collar for 2 weeks but I was lucky because I was able to take him to work with me. He needed drops in the middle of the day so he had to either come with me or be boarded at the vet.

I wish he could have gotten the debridement instead as it would have saved me thousands, but sadly his was too deep and he needed surgery. He's all healed up now and hasn't had an eye problem since then.