Surgery success for puppy with rare eye condition

The six-month-old pup, called Ralph, was referred to Linnaeus-owned Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service, in Solihull, West Midlands, for investigations into a suspicious lump under his right eyelid.

Willows’ specialist-led ophthalmology team discovered the family pet had a cyst on his tear duct and needed delicate surgery to remove it and repair the damaged duct.

Head of ophthalmology Rodrigo Pinheiro de Lacerda took charge of the case, assisted by intern Kayal Patel.

Rodrigo said: “We suspected Ralph’s issue was a case of a lacrimal cyst, a cyst of the tear duct. We performed a thorough ophthalmic examination, including a CT scan and fine needle aspirates, which confirmed the diagnosis.

“Cysts of the lacrimal tissue are an uncommon condition and must be removed carefully to ensure the tear ducts, which drain tears from the eyes to the nose, remain intact.

“However, in Ralph’s case the cyst was actually adhered to the nasolacrimal duct (tear duct), which meant we had to cut the duct itself to allow the successful removal of the troublesome cyst.

“We then had to carefully reconstruct the tear duct surgically to ensure that the tears continued to drain from the eye.

“Ralph responded exceptionally well to the surgery. The cyst was completely removed and post-operative checks have confirmed there has been no recurrence of the lesion.”

Ralph’s owners, Georgia Shepherd and Spencer Cartwright, from Coventry, are delighted and relieved that he’s now back to normal.

Georgia said: “Ralph had a tiny lump on his right eye when we first got him but initially our local vets weren’t too concerned.

“When it grew to be the size of a pea our vets immediately referred him for specialist treatment at Willows in Solihull.

“That’s when my mind went into overdrive. Hearing your puppy needs specialist care makes you realise how serious it could all be.

“I was thinking ‘What’s going on here? This is so unfair, Ralph’s only a little puppy!’ I just couldn’t understand why this was happening to him.

“The vet team at Willows were great, though, and Rodrigo went through everything in detail and made me feel calm about everything.

“I just worried about how Ralph would be all on his own in a strange place when we left him at Willows to have his operation. He was just so small and so young, but we couldn’t be with him.

“Thankfully everything went well and incredibly we were able to take him home the same evening of his operation. He was a bit dazed and had a tube in his eye and a head cone on, but he was back home.

“We were prescribed tablets and eye drops to help his recovery, but I must admit we had a bit of a shock when he managed to pull out his tube and rip off his cone.

“Ten days later he was back to normal and racing around like crazy again. We’re very grateful.”

Willows offers specialist services in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, clinical nutrition, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery and spinal surgery.

To find out more about Willows’ wide range of specialist services, visit www.willows.uk.net or search for Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service on Facebook.