White spot on eye?

[HeatherLouWho]

Hi, All!

My little cutie, Pipsqueak, has had an eye infection off and on for awhile now. First it was just kind of weepy, then goopy. We've used the bacitracin-neomycin-polywhatever ointment, and it cleared up, then came back. We're now on gensomething drops, and the eyes look much clearer and happier.

HOWEVER, the last time we took him to the vet (Monday 16 March), there was a small, whitish spot on his left eye. I am assuming that it is some damage to the cornea. We kept our eyes on it, and it does seem to have gotten a little larger. It's now about 1 millimeter across, or a little more. My vet wants to take Pipsqueak to the veterinary eye center. I am totally scared. He is only 2 years old, and I really don't want him to have to lose his eye so young.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it possible it will heal on its own or with the drops? There is no bump or bulge, just the spot.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Stackie]

Sounds like he may be blind in that eye. Some chins who are blind have a white slit or spot in their eye.

 

[Sasha]

It sounds like it could be an ulcer. Loki had an eye infection that eventually turned his eye cloudy. You will need to take your chin to the vet and have them look at the eye. They use this flourescent dye and a black light. That will tell you if there is a scratch or an ulcer. If it is an ulcer you must discontinue any medication with steroids as that will make it worse. I hope that you can correct it, best of luck.

ETA we used gentamycin drops for the ulcer and injectable baytril (his eye was seriously infected and pussing).

 

[feistychins]

The Gentomycin drops you are using now are very good. I have had a couple of chins have ulcerations on their eyes for various reasons. If it is white and has gotten larger, there is a good chance it will not go away. I would not jump to the conclusion that the eye may have to be removed either. It may just get to a certain size and stay that way. Chins do very well with impared vision. We even took in a rescue that had one eye removed and was basically blind in the other one. You would never know he had any problems.

 

[tunes]

As stated above, there's no need to panic about losing an eye. Even if it is permanently damaged and he's blind, the eye can just exist where it is. There's no need to remove it. If you meant you are concerned about him being blind, psssshht, don't even worry about it. Trust me, your chin won't. He's already adjusting to the changes going on in his vision. If he is losing his vision, or has lost it, it was most likely a slow fade, not instantaneous. He will have been relearning his boundries, checking his balance, figuring out how to function with just one eye.

I have a chin with no eyes. Had them at birth, got beat all to heck as a very young kit, and has no eyeballs at all. You wouldn't know it. He may not be quite as active as some chins, but he's just as active as many others.

 

[HeatherLouWho]

Thanks, all! I'm feeling a little calmer now. *breathe in, breathe out*

Thanks so much for the info. We're scheduled for a vet recheck on Monday (3/30/09). I'll keep your information in mind, and make sure we're going down the right path. You guys definitely have more combined experience (tunes: 250 chinchillas?!) than my vet, even though he's very good.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks again!

 

[HeatherLouWho]

Follow-Up

Hi! Our regular vet took Pipsqueak to the eye vet today. He says that it is a mass of fatty tissue on/in the cornea. He says it will either stay like it is or get a little bigger, but that there's nothing really to be done about it. It will only affect his vision a little, and shouldn't affect his overall health.

The good news is no more drops. Pipsqueak has been getting ointment or drops for two months now and is really tired of it. He has even started nipping at my hand when I try to get him for his twice-daily treatment. I will be happy to let him UNlearn that behavior!

 

[LovableFuzziezandCrawliez]

Hi! Our regular vet took Pipsqueak to the eye vet today. He says that it is a mass of fatty tissue on/in the cornea. He says it will either stay like it is or get a little bigger, but that there's nothing really to be done about it. It will only affect his vision a little, and shouldn't affect his overall health.

I didn't realize such a thing was possible.
Is there a surgery available to remove that kinda thing?? If it keeps growing and gets too big do they have to remove the whole eye? I'm not trying to freak you out it's just something I've never heard of and Im interested in what kind of treatment options they have available - asking anyone here, not just Heather.

I'm glad that it shouldnt affect his overall health. Keep up the good work, sounds like your chinnie will be fine!