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  Discussion on Ulcerated Cornea
Author Message

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 7, 1999 - 3:19 pm:

Hi DrO,
I followed along recently about the appy with the lacerated cornea that resulted in the eye being ultimately removed.

However, to my horror, my TB managed to damage his cornea resulting in an ulcer back around August 27. Unfortunately, I was out of the country at the time but the damaged eye was noticed quickly and the vet was called. He is in a full boarding facility where they take excellent care of the horses. He was given ointment which contained bactrin, neosporin and 2 other antibiotics. Last friday the vet came to see his progress and as the ulcer had not improved as quickly as anticipated his ointment was changed to genacin (sp?) with an application every 2 hours. Apart from having a bath this weekend (did not wash his head for fear of aggravating the eye), he has not been in strong light or ridden since this has happened and has been pastured at night. I have read your article on Cloudy eyes in horses which has resulted in me becoming substantially more concerned about his state than I was originally (a little bit of knowledge can make the imagination go wild). Has his treatment so far been a reasonable approach? How long should I expect the treatment to last if there are no complications?
Obviously, I am hoping that this does not turn into something worse, and I would appreciate your input into this.
Thanks,
Carol.

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 8, 1999 - 7:47 am:

Traumatized corneas are a common occurence in horses and the great majority heal with minimal complications. How quickly one will heal will depend mostly on how deep the trauma is. If just the outer epithelial layer, usually 4 to 12 cells thick, is damaged healing occurs very quickly as these cells reproduce quickly. But if the deeper fibrous portions are damaged, healing can be quite slow and require neovascularization to repair. The second factor that determines treatment and prognosis is what types of infection are present. Helping to prevent infection with antibacterial ointments has been shown to speed healing.

How long your horse will take to heal will depend on factors that I cannot assess: the depth of the trauma and the type organisms present now and in the future. I know that two hours thing has got to be tiring.
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 8, 1999 - 4:01 pm:

Carol-
My personal best wishes, I am the one with the appy that is less one eye now. I am told that my experience was out of the norm and that most eye trauma heals with minimal complications.The only advice I have to offer is get an Opthomogist involved. As an aside note our appy is doing beautifully, we even had him up in the mountains last weekend!
-Emily

Posted on Thursday, Sep 9, 1999 - 3:55 pm:

Emily,
Thanks for your thoughts and wishes. The vet has been following him very closely and is seeing him again today so hopefully there has been some improvement in his eye. If it does not show any signs of improvement with the vets visit, I will get an Opthomologist involved. As you are aware it is really frustrating that such a minor thing can be so devestating if the worst situation occurs.

I am very glad that your appy is doing very well and it is a credit to you that you have given him confidence and he has adjusted well enough with one eye to go out on the trails.
Congratulations!

Carol.

Posted on Friday, Sep 10, 1999 - 9:51 am:

The vet saw him yesterday and was very pleased with the progress of the eye. The lesion has reduced substantially in size, although the iris still remains very dilated. He is being checked again on monday and fingers crossed, I should be able to ride him sometime next week.

Phew! I am sooooo relieved!

Carol.

Posted on Sunday, Sep 12, 1999 - 4:36 pm:

Glad to hear it, I truely hoped you wouldn't have
any complications.
-Emily

Posted on Friday, Oct 19, 2001 - 4:50 pm:

18 month old filly with a 1.5 cm diameter indolent ulcer since 11 September. It was very sore and she was generally uncomfortable. Took up significant amount of green fluorescent dye when initially seen. Rx with triple antibiotic for 10 days 5 times/day with atropine once daily. Unresponsive, changed to gentomycin 10 days 7-8/day. Unresponsive. Was seen by vet opthamologist on 2 Oct. He agressively debrided the eye (used local anesthetic) and continued to use gentomycin every 2 hrs and atropine once daily. Eye is progressively better, lesion is less than 0.5 cm and takes up tiny amount of dye. Opthamologist was critical here and perhaps I should have seen one sooner. He will see her again this week(3 weeks later)but my vet has been monitoring it for me over the last 3 weeks. Lucky that the lesion was superficial, not deep. Opthamologist said to not keep her in a dark stall, she should get plenty of exercise. Any comments? What do you think about the use of fly masks? My vet said it could have been the cause of the lesion. What exactly is an indolent ulcer?

Posted on Saturday, Oct 20, 2001 - 2:03 pm:

Hello Mary
It is a chronic ulcer, with hard elevated edges and few or no granulations, and showing no tendency to heal. Generally these are ulcers that have quit healing and any infection tends to be a secondary process. The debridement is a way of of stimulating the wound so that healing can progress. It can be hard to differentiate a truly indolent ulcer from a very slow infective process though there is generally a bit more inflammation when the infection is primary.

If the fly mask rubs the eye it could cause an ulcer most are designed with a dart over it to prevent this. There is a mask designed with a light proof cup that can be installed over an injured eye to prevent light from getting in.
DrO

PS: Each discussion is unique and should only concern the original poster's question. Though you certainly can ask to have any imformation in a discussion clarified or make a point about any statement, new questions about your own horse should be put in there own discussion under an appropriate topic. I will move this into its own topic is a few days. Thanks for helping to keep us organized.
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