Goggles help Olive on road to recovery from major eye op

A dog unable to open her eyes because of six ulcers is now sporting some hi-tech headwear following surgery at a Cheshire practice.

Clinicians at the Eye Vet site in Runcorn performed multiple grafts on the eyes of three-year-old Olive during an operation that lasted for two-and-a-half hours.

They now expect to complete her treatment in the coming weeks after recommending the goggles to prevent further damage during recovery.

Suspected glaucoma

Ophthalmology director Iona Mathieson said, although she was initially referred as a suspected glaucoma case, Olive’s condition was so serious they operated on her as soon as she was brought to the practice.

She said: “It’s extremely unusual to see so many deep ulcers at one time and they were seriously blighting Olive’s sight.

“The ulcers would have been incredibly painful and she was unable to open her eyes. Her situation was so concerning that I operated straightaway.”

Acell grafts

She added: “Surgery lasted two-and-a-half hours, during which time we performed four Acell grafts on her left eye plus a third eyelid flap and another two grafts on her right eye, a corneal conjunctival transposition and corneal pedicle graft.

“Olive recovered well from surgery and at her post-op check in late November both eyes were comfortable and the grafts had healed.

“We recommended the goggles for Olive to help protect her eyes from further damage from the elements post-surgery.”

Choice of eye, graft and goggle pics (details in file names) attached