Bones' Surgery

Dr. Ebner describes the days surrounding Bones' cataract surgery:

"It has been an exhausting few days. On Tuesday the 8th I took a half day off from the clinic to take him to CSU for his initial examination by the ophthalmology department as well as an electro retina gram (ERG). Light is pointed into his eyes and his sensory response is measured by probes placed into his head. It is important to make sure that the retina is still functional before such a big surgery. Otherwise it would be a waste of time. His test indicated that the retinas were fine.

Then he had to be examined by the anesthesia department so they could plan the medications that would be used for his procedure. After several hours and three physical examinations as well as the ERG he was deemed good to go for surgery the next day to remove the cataracts. I was sent home with eye drops to begin getting the eyes ready for surgery and was instructed to have him back at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at 7:30 the next morning. The dogs are usually kept at the VTH the night before surgery but it was determined that because of his diabetes (we wanted to keep everything stable) and the fact that in this case the owner is a veterinarian, it would be ok to have him go home for the night.

We left for Ft. Collins at 6:30 AM on Wednesday. Since we arrived quite early I was able to take him for a good long walk. I wondered what it would be like to walk him the next day. When you take an animal to CSU the case is always primarily handled by a fourth year veterinary student who is in turn supervised by a resident or a faculty member. At 7:30 I entered the VTH and met Melanie, the student who had been assigned to our case. She had also been the first one to perform a physical on Bones the previous day. Luckily she had read Bones' Blog so she knew all about him. Melanie took Bones to the anesthesia department where another fourth year student would prepare Bones for his procedure. He was given his premeds, a sedative, a pain medication and something to keep his heart rate steady during the surgery. After several pieces of monitoring equipment were attached he was wheeled into surgery.

At that point I joined him in the surgery suite. The surgeons conducted almost the entire procedure under an operating microscope. We were able to follow their progress by way of a video monitor.

Dr's P and Z proceed with the surgery viewing the
eye through an operating microscope

The cataracts were removed by an instrument that sends sound waves out in an ultrasonic wave which disrupts the cataract and the pieces are sucked out. The procedure took about two hours which included inserting implants into his lens so his vision would be optimized. He was then taken to recovery.

Bones' eye at the start of surgery...

...the cataract is breaking up...

...and the lens implant is inserted.

I decided that for his safety I would stay away while he woke up because I knew if he could smell me he would become very excited. I received reports from Melanie and Dr. Z, the resident, throughout the afternoon as he recovered from the anesthesia. Finally at 4pm I returned to the VTH to have his discharge instructions and take him home. When Melanie brought him into the room, although he was still groggy, he ran to me and started licking my face. As we walked down the hall to the doors he stayed in the very center of the hall until it was time to turn right to the doors and without any encouragement from me he turned right and went for the doors. That night I started a regimen of 5 different eye drops that he needs. Some of them he receives 4 times a day.

Dr. Z thought it was very important for her to check his eyes first thing the next day so this morning at 6:30 we were back on our way to Ft. Collins. Once again I was early so I walked him on the grass for a bit while we waited. He was walking up to trees and smelling them and looking at cars going past. At one point he was out as far as the leash would allow and I called to him, he turned his head started wagging his tail and ran full speed straight to me. At that moment I knew in my heart that I had done the right thing.

At his recheck this morning Dr. Z told me that he is proceeding just as he should be so soon after surgery. I continue to apply his drops (13 drops in each eye spread out from 6am to 10pm).

I can't say enough about the students and staff at CSU! It was a wonderful experience."