Hi. Different response from me: My dog Jerry has had successful cataract surgeries on both eyes, and I am so glad we had them done!
Jerry was 20 months old when our regular vet discovered that he had cataracts in both eyes. We immediately saw a specialist/ veterinary ophtamologist who confirmed that he had hereditary juvenile cataracts. One, in the right eye, was almost mature (vision significantly affected/ basically blind), and one in the left eye, which was still very small. The vet recommended surgery, he does them on a routine basis.
We brought Jerry in at 8am in the morning and were able to pick him up, still groggy, at 5pm. I was quite stressed out at the time. Actually the vet had intended to operate on both eyes, but ended up doing only the right eye, as, during the op, he found some sort of unusual lense instability at the back of the lense (another hereditary eye problem a little more unusual in cockers). This meant that the risk of post-surgery complications would be higher for Jerry than normal, i.e. the vet said during the first 6 weeks after surgery there was a risk that the retina would detach. That would have been horrible, since that is a problem which is almost impossible to fix and generally results in permanent blindness. Fortunately with Jerry, though, the worst-case scenario never happened. Post-surgery he had to wear an elizabethean collar and had to be restricted (no running off leash) for two weeks. Seriously, that was the worst aspect of the whole procedure! He had to go for re-exams 2 days, 2 weeks and 6 weeks after surgery. Jerry got used to the collar and was back to normal within about 24 hours! Never whined or showed discomfort about pain, there was absolutely no problem at all. It was great to see his eye clear and dark again!! Nowadays, an artificial "contact lense" can be inserted into the eye, which will restore perfect vision to the eye. Without it, the dog can see, but is far-sighted. Due to the lense problem, the vet was not able to insert an artificial lense into any of Jerry's eyes, but really, his far-sightedness does not bother him much at all.
After the first surgery had been successful the vet felt comfortable enough to operate on the left eye about half a year later. Within a week or so (!) the cataract in that eye had grown to almost mature! This time the surgery was absolutely flawless. I was much less worried and when we picked Jerry up, he was already bouncing around again (with the collar...). All re-exams went great, there were never any complications and the only problem was fighting Jerry's boredom and energy during the two weeks of restrained exercise. Again, Jerry never showed any signs of pain or discomfort. It was so easy. Today, he has two clear eyes, sees much better, and we know the cataracts cannot come back.
Here are a few points that I would note though:
- Juvenile cataracts are different from the lense opaqueness some breeds develop at an older age, for example poodles. Since your dog is 8 years old, I would consult the vet what kind it is and whether surgery is worth it. Of course, the older the dog, the higher the general risk of surgery. I know an older poodle who still copes quite ok with limited vision and in that case, of course, surgery would be totally unwarranted.
- Surgery is really expensive. All in all we paid around US$3,000 for both surgeries plus re-exams. It also requires some effort with pre-treating the eye in the days before surgery, with lots of eyedrops and some pills, to reduce/prevent inflammation of the eye. Post-surgery also means LOTS of eyedrops, first 4 times a day, after a few days 3 times etc. Now, about 2-3 months later we are still treating the left eye with 2 drops a day...
- Please consult a specialist in any case!! He/she will evaluate whether surgery is an option for you and take a good look at the eye and the stage of the cataract(s). Small, non-growing cataracts may not affect vision much at all. If there is (another) problem with the retina, surgery may not be possible at all. Simply not operating, however, can also cause problems. Leaving the cataract where it is can stress the eye, can cause constant inflammation (redness in the eye) and other complications. So it's about more than just the question of vision, and the eye(s) would have to be monitored in any event. Success rates for surgery, according to my vet, are around 97%.
All in all, again, I am so glad we had the surgery done. Jerry would have been blind by now otherwise, at age 2!! Ok, he is far-sighted but it does not bother him much. Because at both times of the surgery the other eye could (still) compensate, he could still cope really well and we hardly ever noticed any real problems with his vision - but occasionally, he did already start bumping into things -- and his cataracts grew so fast! Nowadays, while he still usually takes a little longer to find a tennis ball chucked far away, he has become a lot better in some games we play, so we do see a real difference and that is something that makes me so happy!
It was such a scare when we first found out about his cataracts, but looking back, the surgeries went without any problems and I would always do it again - and worry much less!! I have in the meantime read so much about the subject - please feel free to ask more or pm me!!
