Hi my dog has diabetes and has developed cataracts in both eyes. He'll be having surgery soon. The vet said there is a level of urgency due to the diabetes. I was wondering if you could give me details on what cataract eye surgery would involve? Also signal boost the increased risk a normal condition has for a diabetic pet.
Sueanoi here,
Cataract surgery is often referred to Phacoemulsification, or phaco. It's a surgery where the vet will emulsify the lens using ultrasonic energy and replaced with an intraocular lens implant, or IOL.
There might be pre-surgery preparation including home eye drops a few days prior and withholding feed (+-water) before anesthesia (for how many hours depending on individual animal).
The surgeon will make one or two small stab, and insert one or two small instrument into the eyeball and do everything through the small hole (depending on the vet’s preference and training). The lens is broken down and sucked out, and the IOL is inserted to replace the lens. After it's done, the wound(s) is either sutured or glued (Humans use glue. but for pets it's often suture, due to more strength).
After that, if the retina is still functioning well, the pet will regain sight. Sometimes the retina loses its function, in that case it will not regain sight.
It's a long surgery. Your pet will need to be well controlled in glucose level. and stabilized other blood result related stuff. You should expect intense post-op appointments, as neither you or your vet would wanna give it any chance for anything to go wrong after.
Home eye-drops will also be quite intense. So you’d need to make time in advance to be with your pet, or have your pet be admitted into a care service, if that’s not possible.
By the time this is published, the issue might already be over. I apologize for the delay and I hope this is useful to other readers.
