cheery eye

[3kidsnabullie]

Hi all, while we were away, we received a call that our baby has cherry eye   We were so upset, but after talking to our breeder we were assured that in bulldogs this is quite common.  My breeder who has been showing and breeding bulldogs for 15 years told us to simply have the gland removed but keep as much as the duct as possible, and we will not have a problem with dry eye.  She said that up to 90% of cherry eyes return if not removed.  Our vet and the opthamologist on the other hand has vehemently disagreed with the breeder and recommends tacking the gland for a cost of $1200.  What should we do?  Any advice  would be greatly appreciated. 

ps.  Leaving our dog for 2 weeks was absolutely BRUTAL!!!  Deezie gained 4 lbs on his stay.....lack of exercise i assume....and he has not left my side since he's been home.  Poor baby

[OLIVER]

tacking.  i have read a ton about this and dogs that have the gland removed get dry eye.  oliver had the surgery almost a year ago (his cherry eye was tacked) and he has had no problems with it reoccuring.

[MissMolly]

1,200 !!!! are they crazy!!!!  I had both of Molly's eye tacked 3 months ago for $250.  You don't have to have anything removed.  I think you are getting hosed.

Here's before and after:

[OLIVER]

oh yes, i agree on price.....it cost me $500 to get oliver nuetered and have his cherry eye tacked.

[Tanks Mom]

Wow....$1,200...for one eye??
Tank just developed cherry eye recently too.      I was so upset too but then came here and looked up the topic and saw the good results after tacking.   Tank goes to a specialist on Saturday for a consult.  I will post again to let you know what the specialist says as well as the price.  Who knows...maybe if its substanially cheaper you could drive him to Connecticut for the operation.  ?? 

[MissMolly]

Tanks Mom-My vet in CT did it and I didn't have to see a specialist which would have probably costed more.  As you can see by the pics he did an excellent job.  Let me know if you want his name and #.

[lubbincarl&gerty]

I discussed this with my vet before, and she said that the old, outdated method is to remove the gland, which can cause many problems down the road.  Younger vets, or vets who keep up with the emerging research, tend to favor tacking because it does not have the implications of removal of the gland.

[brumzoo]

Definitely have the gland tacked down. Lumpy had both of his tacked down almost three years ago and we have had no other problems with them!

Removing the gland is asking for dry eye.
 

[3kidsnabullie]

Thanks for all the advice.  I will definitely have it tacked.  Does anyone know of a vet in the DC/Northern VA area that does this procedure.  Both of the vets that I know refer this procedure the that expensive specialist.  Also another question, my vet has him on a topical antibiotic that gets placed in his eye three times a day.  Should I keep him on this until the surgery???  His eye looks just like Bear's above picture.  Oh and also, how long is too long til surgery.  He has had this for about 5 days, could it cause any permanent physical damage to his eye.  Thanks!!!!!

[MissMolly]

Does the cherry stay out or can you manipulate it in?  Some people have had success just manipulating it in their selves and sometimes it pops back out sometimes it doesn't.  I manipulated Molly's a couple times but it kept coming out.  Your vet should have tried this.

[3kidsnabullie]

Hi, the vet did manipulate it back in, but it came right back out.  How long were molly's out before surgery???  Ps.  she looks AWESOME!!!

[MissMolly]

I'd say 2 weeks total because in the beginning they would pop out and in on their own.  Then we started manipulating them back in and then they wouldn't stay in at all.

It took a good month or so after the surgery for all swelling to go down and she looked back to normal.  I think it's because we waited so long.  But they do say cherry eye is not an emergency condition.  I wouldn't wait too long though.

[bogey's mom]

bogey got cherry eye a couple of times before we had the tacking done. the first few times, it popped right back in, within hours at the most. the last time, it was a couple of days, and the vet said to wait a week, and if it didn't pop back in, then we could consider surgery. the tacking cost us $300 for one eye, so i definately think $1200 is outrageously high! good luck!

[Maggpie]

I would not have the gland removed.  Getting it tacked is the fist step.  Your breeder is not a vet,even though she does have experience for 15 years with bullies I would still listen to your vet and not the breeder.  $1200.00 is a lot of money for cherry eye to be tacked.  Good luck!

[lubbincarl&gerty]

We are in Baltimore county, and we have a very good bulldog vet that does the tacking herself.  I don't know if that would be too far for you to travel, but when we lived in the DC area, we came up here for her.  We have since moved (not because of the vet's location, lol, that was just a bonus)...

anyway, if you are interested, PM me for her info.