What to Do for a Dog with an Eye Ulcer?

As a vet, I would say it sounds like you are already doing everything that can be done and short of seeing a vet who is an opthomology specialist (yes, they do exist) and getting their expert second opinion, surgery (whether it is to help the cornea to heal or to remove the eye) is the next step. As for which you should choose now, nobody can say. Almost everything in medicine is a gamble and we can't 100% predict the results. I always have to inform people of the possible risks and outcomes for their pets before allowing them to consent or decline anything. If your vet feels she has an 80% chance of the eye healing with surgery, that's pretty darn good - but if you are not financially prepared to potentially do 2 surgeries, I would just have the eye removed. Dogs can do just fine with only one eye (one of mine is living proof of that) and she won't be in any pain. As long as you understand there is the potential that she would need to have the eye removed if the first surgery doesn't go well, then that's all you can do. Oftentimes our job as vets is to offer options with as much information as possible and let the owner decide from there. Nothing in medicine (human or animal) is 100% certain.

i'm a little surprised that this particular surgery is the only option the vet has given you. simply removing the eye should be a great deal cheaper, as well as being easier on her afterwards, and easier on you as far as after-care. i would certainly consider that option carefully before proceeding with a surgery that expensive on an older dog.
khairete
S.

It sounds like you are doing everything you can with your vet's recommendation. I would talk it over more with your vet about which surgery to do. Also if you are not seeing an ophthalmologist you could try that and see if they have anything different to try or what surgery they would recommend. I can't comment on the eye surgery in particular, but having worked in vet's office I have seen many older dogs do great and recover well after surgery. If you decide on the eye removal she will most likely be fine with the one eye or even if she ends up blind at a later stage. It is amazing what animals can do and how well they adapt to missing limbs, eyes, etc.

Do the surgery NOW! I adopted a 13 YO pug several years ago. Her previous owners had just let this go and her eye ruptured and had to be removed. When the other eye became infected, they ignored it and chose to take her to the pound. The vet said part of the problem was they let the eye go for SO LONG before surgery, the infection weakened her immune system and compromised her greatly. I had to go ahead with the surgery and she did fine .... recovered well and has partial sight in one eye.

Ask your veterinarian for a referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist. Also - steroids can slow corneal healing, although there are situations where they are used very appropriately I would ask some questions.

Our dog had the same problem at 12 years old. Because of the age of the dog and the cost and effectiveness of the surgery to fix the eye, we chose to have the eye removed. At first he bumped into things as he got used to not having one eye, but he adjusted quickly and was you couldn't even tell. We were happy with our decision.

go to the feed and tack store and get a puffer. the name of it is puffer. it works miracles with stuff like that.

This is a hard one, not knowing how bad the condition is and how good of health the dog is in over all. If the dog is healthy and you think it still has some good years (or months if the money is something you can afford without hardship) than I would say go for it, but if the dog is already weak and in poor health from age and $700 would put hardship on your family, I would consider having the dog put down.