Boston Terrier Cataract Surgery

by Patty
(Newmarket, NH)

Has anyone had cataract surgery on their Boston Terrier? If so what was your experience? Was it worth the risks? I'm having such a hard time deciding if I should put my 13 and a half year old Boston through it. It's such a tough decision. I would appreciate advice.

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Boston Terrier Cataract Surgery

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Nov 08, 2011
 1 1/2 year old boston with cataracts
by: Marielle

Just found out that my 1 1/2 year old boston has cataracts in both eyes. Has anyone had the surgery done on a 1-2 year old boston? I'm struggling with the decision to go ahead with the surgery or not. Most of the posts on here are of older bostons who have gone through the surgery, most of them unfortunately, developing complications after. I saw the vet and an optomologist who gave me an estimate of around $4,000 for the surgery. I often wonder if these vets are just trying to get you in there for your money.

I've yet to find any information on younger bostons with cataracts who have gone through the surgery. I don't know what to do.
Nov 02, 2011
 Cataract Surgery
by: Anonymous

I had surgery on my dog, who is not a BT. Just had found this site AFTER the surgery. The vets do not tell you the whole story.

They initially said care is 'intense' and he would need eye drops. He went home with SEVERAL eye drops and two oral meds.

My dog ended up with complications. Initially, he was on several eye drops, and Rimadyl and Methazolomide oral meds.

He then developed corneal ulcers, a retinal tear leading to total blindness in one eye, infection, corneal swelling, and finally, glaucoma. He was put on many medications, including (some all at one time) Methazolomide, Dorzolomide, Timolol, Travatan, Sodium Chloride, E-mycin, Trusopt, and some i have forgotten. When he got a horrible infection, I had to get up every hour for 2 days to put in three different eye drops or ointments.

All the drugs had terrible side effects. I feel he would have died in June or July if I had not taken him off the Rimadyl and Methazolomide.

During the process, he would not eat at times and I had to force feed him because he needed his insulin shot. He had stomach upset, including vomiting and diarrhea.

Finally, his glaucoma got so severe we had to remove his eyes a few weeks ago. SO, we are worse off than when we started. He wasn't totally blind when we started the process, and might have had some sight if left alone. He is doing well now and each day is a gift.

The vet admitted it shouldn't have been done because his cataracts were too mature. Duh,,,,didn't she know how to find that out to begin with?

He got the short stick in all this, including a visit to a local university vet center, where they sent me home without thorough testing, and a visit to an internist who did nothing but charge us around $800.

Do NOT do this surgey until you do more research. Decide whether or not you can live with a blind dog if his vision loss continues. Decide whether or not you can give drops three to four times a day if you do the surgery. Travatan alone costs anywhere from $80 to $100 and it's a tiny bottle, lasting only 1-2 weeks.

If you want more information or want to talk about this, send another message and I'll be glad to call or email you.
Nov 01, 2011
 Further problems from cataract surgery
by: Nancy

Sadly we had to have our dog's remaining eye removed a couple of weeks ago. The eye had been in relatively good shape following catarct surgery, although she had poor to little vision in it from high pressures and we had to administer four different drops, three times a day. Finally it developed an ulcer and ruptured. She had the cataract surgery earlier this year and had the first eye removed shortly after - it was completely destroyed by high pressures and other complications following the surgery. This was our worst nightmare and it has now come true. In hindsight, the cataract surgery was a terrible mistake. I am so sorry for putting our dog through all this suffering and trauma.
Sep 09, 2011
 cataracts
by: margie

Just found out that our 8 year old BT has cataracts. I feel so bad for him (his name is ARCHIE) The vet said he was not totally blind, except he may have trouble seeing at night. Surgery is not an option. Has anybody had good results with drops???
Aug 19, 2011
 eye drops
by: Anonymous

I saw something called occu Glo RX on line. Perhaps that would be a good drop for your dog to try.
Again, do not do cataract surgery until you look at ALL the possible side effects and complications. I do not recommend it. The vets do not tell you the whole story!
Aug 19, 2011
 Rocky part 2
by: TJ

con't...
Finally the vet said she would need a laser surgery in the left eye which would also cause more inflammation at first, but would make it so less fluid would enter the eye to build up, so it was really the only option. Two weeks after the first surgery she had the laser surgery on her left eye. (It looked terrible because he sewed her eyelids together for the first day because they don?t blink enough and that can cause even more problems.)

A few days after the second surgery the pressure in her left eye was up in the 30?s but the vet just continued monitoring without poking another needle in her eye. Over the last week the pressure seems to be stabilizing, though she has a terrible cloud in the left eye. They said she?s still visual in that eye, which means it?s better than before the surgery. The right eye seems to be healing nicely and she most likely has full sight in it.

Her treatments were done in Calgary, Alberta and the doctors were excellent. It cost about $3300 plus all the different eye drops we had to keep switching to. I would not do this surgery unless your dog no longer has it?s sight, and now after going through this I?m not sure if it would be something I would do again, especially if the dog was a bit older or not as active. Definitely a tough decision to make.
Aug 19, 2011
 Rocky part 1
by: TJ

My Boston Rocky is 10 years old. A few months back I had her eyes checked by a specialist because she had had cataracts for years but it appeared they may have been getting worse (the browns of her eyes were not as clear anymore). The left eye was pretty bad so not much sight, but the right eye could still see some so they didn?t recommend any surgery. Three months later I went in for the follow up and at that point the vet said her eyes had worsened ? he could no longer see the retina in her good eye. After that I noticed that she was bumping into things and had a hard time managing new stairs. She?s still very young at heart so I decided to do the surgery so that she could be her old self again.

Rocky had her surgery on July 27 and the vet said everything went well. The next day when we took her in for the follow up he told us that she had ulcers in both eyes so he switched the eye drops she was on so that they would heal. (Most likely the ulcers developed because Boston?s don?t blink enough.) A few days later, the pressure in her left eye was way up ? she had developed glaucoma. For the next week and a half she spent most of the time at the vets for observation. Almost every night her pressure would spike and a needle was put in her eye to drain it, which causes more inflammation and makes it harder to heal, but if you leave the pressure that high it pushes on the optic nerve and can cause other problems.
Aug 05, 2011
 Clydes Cataracts
by: Ruppee

Glad to find this website. Poor Clyde is 9 yrs old and loves to play ball. His left eye showed signs of cataract first and now it looks like his right eye has cataract also. After reading all the stories about the complications from surgery, we definately wont put him through it. This morning, I let Clyde out in his fenched in yard and he ran around and as he came running up the hill, he ran into the fench. That was heart breaking to see but we know he will be happier doing what he can do in his safe environment.
Im going to check with his sister Bonnie's owner to see if she has shown signs of cataracts also.
We'll help Clyde live a safe happy life with cataracts.
Aug 01, 2011
 I would not do it again
by: patkf

Our Boston Terrier is 13 and had limited sight in one eye and almost none in the other. We, as some of the rest of you have said, hoped to make things better for our dog. He functioned pretty well around home occasionally bumping into things. When we took him to Florida for a month, we noticed it quite a bit more. The doctor recommended just doing one eye, just in case he had complications. We are 4 weeks out from surgery, and things are not going very well. He made good progress the first two weeks and then developed glaucoma. We had a procedure to inject the eye. Successfully reduced the pressure and two days later he developed an ulcer on the cornea. We go again in 2 days for another check-up. The specialist is an hour away. This has been not good for our dog or us. I really think we should have left well enough alone.
Jul 29, 2011
 maggies cataracts
by: brian

Maggie is 9 yrs old and was diagnosed with cataracts at the beginning of this year. We have had multiple trips to the vets, each time they tell me her eyes are getting worse. She's not in any pain, and seems to maneuver around the house fine. After reading these posted comments i am definetely stearing away from surgery. I have found an eye drop on line called can-c, that claims to improve vision and slowly reverse the cataracts all together. Has anyone tried these drops on their bostons? If so, how did it work out? Please let me know. BOSTONS ARE THE BEST!!
Jul 10, 2011
 Pee Wee's surgery
by: Rita

I wish I had found this site sooner too. Pee Had surgery April 28 and has had every complication that is listed since. His pressures went up, he got uveitis, he got a corneal abrasion. He had digestive upset, we had to work with him to eat, and I argued that he be removed from Rimadyl, which has all sorts of side effects. The opthalomologist said there were no other antiflammatories and she wanted to keep his eyes safe.

He became lethargic and not himself. He developed a retinal tear in his left eye, rendering it totally sightless.

He was in the E-collar 8 weeks because we went on vacation two weeks and he was boarded (just to be safe.)

Also after we got home from vacation, he wouldn't eat hardly at all again, threw up, etc. I became fearful that it was the Rimadyl they gave him, because about 12 days ago, he had a black, tarry stool symptomtic of Rimadyl toxicity. Finally, I pulled him off Rimadyl over a week ago myself and got another opinion-of which that doctor said that some of his problems are likely from Rimadyl.

About 9 days ago, the opthalmologist said to take the collar off because the surgery and corneal ulcers were healed. He was still pretty lethargic, but happy to be out of it. However, he scratched both corneas even though we watched him diligently, and got a terrible eye infection over last weekend. The diclofunec drops he was on can cause non-healing!

He is on three drops or ointment for the infection (two of which had to be put in the bad eye every hour for 48 hours.) He is on Timolol, Travatan, Dorzolomide, Methazolomide, plus the antibiotic drops. There are more, but I don't list them all now.

He has seen the eye doctor four days in a row last week and the ulcers and infection are clearing. But now, he is depressed and won't open his eyes. He is moving very slowly. At least earlier even with the collar on, he loved going on a walk. Now, he can hardly make it down the street.

Can anyone give me an idea of any recovery time on this or what to do. She has suggested removal of the bad eye, but that's even more surgery.

(He is not a Boston Terrier.)

I would like some ideas on what to do.
Jul 10, 2011
 Cataract Surgery Results
by: Nancy

Further to our dog's cataract surgery saga, we ended up having to remove one eye. She is basically blind in the remaining eye and we have to keep up with glaucoma drops three times a day, but the pressures do not seem to be well controlled, or else something else is going on that is ruining her remaining vision. She did not have glaucoma before the cataract surgery was done. She has not adjusted too well to her vision loss - doesn't play anymore, gets lost in the house, having accidents in the house, has to feel her way tentatively around, bangs into things and so on. She could use a little helmet and goggles!
Jul 10, 2011
 1 yr old BT with cataracts
by: Jeff

My 1 year old Boston Terrier has developed cataracts and I am undecided if I should or should not have the surgery. She gets along fine in her environment, runs, plays, and hasn't bumped into any objects at home. Yesterday I took her to a park to run, she bumped into a rock.

This makes me think that the progression is getting worse. I have read the other posts, but they are regarding an older BT. Has anyone had their younger Boston treated? Hers is a congenital health condition. She's not diabetic, completely health and no problems otherwise.

Thank you,
Jeff
Mar 15, 2011
 Cataract surgery
by: DeAnn

Our experience was very similar to Nancy's. I wish I would have found this site and posted sooner for your sake. We thought we were doing a good thing for our little Abbie and it really made her life hell for quite a few months. I would have preferred to have left well enough alone now. Once her eyes were so bad, having them removed gave her so much relief from pain. I'm glad Joe Joe didn't have to go through it.
Mar 03, 2011
 cataract surgery
by: Patty Newmarket, NH

Nancy thank you so much for sharing. I am so sorry that the surgery didn't go well. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your experience. It has helped me, along with DeAnne's experience, to decided not to go through with the surgery for my Joe Joe. Even though it went badly for you, your experience has helped us. Thank you and bless you and your Boston Terrier.
Feb 19, 2011
 Boston Terrier cataract surgery
by: Nancy

Well, we went through with the cataract surgery at the beginning of January, and it has not turned out well. Our dog developed very high pressures in her eyes almost immediately following the surgery. She is now on two different glaucoma drops and we have had one trauma after another in the six weeks since, despite being very diligent with the drops and being very careful. Sadly, and although I would not want to sway another dog's chances for the gift of renewed vision, I would not recommend this surgery. We went into it with mixed feelings and a 50-60% estimated success rate, but wanted to do all that we could for our dog, even though she had no complications from the cataracts yet and seemed to get around just fine for the most part. It was a big and very, very expensive mistake. We will probably end up having one eye removed as there is no sight in it, and the pressures can't seem to stabilize. We are hoping she can retain some sight in the other eye. So basically, after much trauma to the dog and to us, and almost $5K later and counting, we have a dog with worse sight than before the surgery. We had to travel far to get the surgery and the problems afterwards have meant almost daily trips to our own local vet for continued monitoring of the pressures. One aspect that we were not really informed of beyond the cost of the surgery (about $3100 plus the trip expenses) was the ongoing and added expense of the eyedrops (probably about $200 a month or more for the glaucoma meds we now need), plus all the additional expenses for followup with our own local vet. Unfortunately, in my opinion, I do not think cataract surgery for dogs, or at least for boston terriers, is at the point where one should actually seriously consider it. Having a dog's eyes removed and doomed to complete darkness, is in my opinion much worse than living with cataracts, where at least the dog might still have some sense of light and movement. I am writing this now because I searched the internet beforehand looking for experiences of others - we were very torn about whether to go ahead or not. There was not much info about others' experiences. Our experience has ended up badly, and I want to let others debating this surgery know they need to very carefully weigh their own circumstances, and maybe get a couple of second opinions. Apparently some other breeds are more successful and have higher success rates, but it seems Bostons and a few others have a lot of complications, and therefore it might not be the best option to proceed.
Feb 19, 2011
 cataract surgery
by: Patty Newmarket, NH

Thank you Deann for sharing your experience. I have decided not to go ahead with the surgery. Joe Joe seems to be adapting to his loss of sight. I apply drops to decrease inflammation and so far things are going well. I love him so much. He's my best friend. I feel better since I read your comment - I think I'm doing the right thing. Thank you!
Jan 21, 2011
 Cataract surgery
by: DeAnn

From my experience with it and without it, I would pass on it. Especially with an older dog. We had a Boston that lived her whole life with cataracts and got along fine until the end. We also had the surgery done on our 9 year old Boston in very good health and it went very badly. She was thoroughly checked and given thumbs up for surgery and it's possible success. Complications set in even though we followed all post-operative instructions to the letter and she developed glaucoma (a horrible, painful disease)and had to have her eyes removed. She did great after that. You have to keep them very calm and quiet for 6 weeks and that is very difficult with a healthy Boston. The ordeal was not worth it. They can adapt very well to cataracts and it can be medicated as needed. If it becomes worse or no longer treatable I would remove the eyes before I would try that surgery again. Our Boston adapted well to blindness and kept right on playing. Good luck whatever you do.
Dec 10, 2010
 Also trying to decide on surgery
by: Nancy

Hi, we are in the same situation, with our 10 1/2 year old Boston. She is in excellent health, but is losing vision due to cataracts.

We are very concerned about the surgery, because we were told it would only have a 50% success rate, (or maybe 60%, seeing she may only live about four more years... that was the vet's comment, not ours!) If it does not work, her eyes may need to be removed entirely. So that is alarming. The cost, the 9 hour drive one way to get the surgery done, and the questionable success rate has us doubting whether we should proceed. We are also investigating those Can-C (n-acetyl cornosine) eye drops being flogged on the internet.

Anyone with advice to offer on the surgery and the eye drops?

Dec 02, 2010
 Cataract
by: Mary

+
Congratulations on raising a BT for 13 successful years! It is time for the elderly years so cataract surgery may not be worth the stress on both of you. I have not had the need for this surgery on our pups but I am not sure I would go through with it at that age. My mom had a chihuahua that needed it but she did not have it done. Her dog was happy without it until the day he died at 19 years old.

On the other hand your pup may be in great health otherwise and if you have the extra money it may make you both feel better in the long run.

Be sure to write back and let us know what you decided and how it is going!

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