Long shot: any experience with cysts in eyes?

[NKlein]

Dan and I noticed some cloudiness in Byron's eyes a couple of weeks ago. We scheduled an appt. immediately with our regular vet. Our regular vet noticed that Byron had some cysts on his eyes as well as uveitis (anterior swelling) and issued a blood test--Byron tested positive for anaplasmosis, which is a tick-borne disease similar to Lyme. The plan at that point was to treat the anaplasmosis with antibiotics and issue drops to the eyes in order to reduce the swelling. If the uveitis and cysts were unchanged within 3 days, then he was recommending an ophthalmologist. Three days later, his eyes were the same.

We went to the ophthalmologist last week who informed us that Byron has most likely lost most vision in his right eye as a result of the cysts. He also told us that the cysts seem to be filled with blood and that the left eye was also affected (uveitis in both eyes, however his vision is not compromised in his left eye).

We have a follow-up appt. tomorrow to monitor the progress and I'm hoping we can put together a more long-term plan. Obviously topical steroid drops are not a very long-term solution. I haven't been able to find many medical solutions for iris cysts, however I have read that surgically removing them or draining them with a needle are options. My issue is that these seem to be solutions for non-blood-filled cysts. I know it's a long shot, but I figure it was worth a shot to see if any other newf.netters have had experience or know somebody with experience with blood-filled cysts within the eye. Thank you!!

P.S. We did follow-up bloodwork on the anaplasmosis and all of Byron's blood levels are normal (no failing kidneys or other systemic problems), which is great. Both my vet and the ophthalmologist believe the uveitis and cysts are symptoms of the anaplasmosis. I'm so frustrated that Byron's vision was compromised because of a tick-borne disease. Ugh, so frustrating!

 

[CMDRTED]

Sorry to hear this, wish I could help. Unfortunately I have zero experience with this, but am keeping fingers crossed for a good outcome.

 

[BaileyBear]

I am no help. Just wanted to share your frustration with ticks. Bailey had ehrlichiosis after only being with me for a month. Grrrrr. Nasty little things.

 

[NKlein]

Thank you! BaileyBear, I have to admit that the ticks are one of the few drawbacks about this region. I feel like I'm always walking the line between applying too much Advantix and not enough. The summer is obviously the worst--my boys swim nearly every day. They're hot, we live near the ocean, it makes sense. The problem is that it makes me question how much Advantix I should be applying. I don't want to make my boys sick, but with them in the water so much, I don't know what to do. When I found out he could have gone partially blind because of a tick-borne disease, I just felt very guilty. Ugh!

 

[new_2_newf]

Don't feel guilty...there is absolutely no way you can protect them 100% from those sorts of things, and you did what you honestly felt was the absolute best for your pup. I hope you guys can get a plan hashed out for your boy.

 

[Sun Valley]

Hi,

If your breeder is a member of the NCA breeder's list maybe they could email the list to see if anyone else has had any experience with what your going through. There are also a few breeder/Vets on the list that may know more.

Good luck and I wish you the best with Byron.

Lou Ann

 

[NKlein]

Thank you, Lou Ann! I'll reach out to her!

We saw a second ophthalmologist for another opinion. We were growing frustrated with our first ophthalmologist for several reasons and I'm glad we saw the second. The first ophthalmologist diagnosed Byron with a detached retina based on his ultrasound. We had another ultrasound done with the second ophthalmologist who told us that the retina may not be completely detached. We are doing everthing we have to address the issue, but based on what we've seen I no longer think the eye issue and anaplasmosis are related. Obviously there is no way to know for sure, but it seems that the detached retina was likely caused by the cysts. Anyway, thanks all for your help!!

 

[R Taft]

No experience in dogs eyes, but i have in horses eyes. One of our horses had uveitis in both eyes and had cysts. Though no tick involvement as we do not have ticks here. so i am only talking about similar conditions and symptoms. Rebel had a bloody cyst punctured in one eye and one with clear fluid in the other. Both surgeries at separate times were very successful. He was also on a minimum dose of aspirin for the rest of his life (23 years) daily. This was for the anti-inflammatory action for his uveitis which was chronic. Rebel did eventually go blind, but it took nearly twenty years.
I am sorry that Byron has this problem, eyes are very precious. I think I would be quite confident to follow the opthamologists treatment. it is baht we did with Reb

 

[NKlein]

No experience in dogs eyes, but i have in horses eyes. One of our horses had uveitis in both eyes and had cysts. Though no tick involvement as we do not have ticks here. so i am only talking about similar conditions and symptoms. Rebel had a bloody cyst punctured in one eye and one with clear fluid in the other. Both surgeries at separate times were very successful. He was also on a minimum dose of aspirin for the rest of his life (23 years) daily. This was for the anti-inflammatory action for his uveitis which was chronic. Rebel did eventually go blind, but it took nearly twenty years.
I am sorry that Byron has this problem, eyes are very precious. I think I would be quite confident to follow the opthamologists treatment. it is baht we did with Reb

This is very helpful, thank you so much. I think what I am hoping for is that we can treat the underlying problem that is causing the uveitis since it is most often a symptom of something else. The second ophthalmologist is not convinced the anaplasmosis is linked since only one eye is affected. I believe that most cases are like Rebel's where the uveitis is chronic.

I really loved our second ophthalmologist, but we are still seeing a third (which the second recommended) just to make sure we are doing everything we can. We did give him a steroid injection in his eye after going over all of our options, though the chance of his vision being restored is slight. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

 

[R Taft]

:hugs: :hugs: to Byron......we wish him well

 

[NKlein]

UPDATE:

I wanted to come back to this thread for an update since I had originally thought that anaplasmosis and Byron's cysts could be linked. After several months of weekly appts., several minor procedures on Byron's eye and one major surgery, we know that the anaplasmosis likely had nothing to do with the cysts.

Byron is doing well, but is still unable to see out of his right eye. Soon after we discovered the cyst in his eye, we decided that we should try to have it removed as soon as we could. At the time, we suspected he might have limited sight (he had some reactions to sight tests), but our regular ophthalmologist said that if we didn't have the cyst removed, it would likely burst and the damage wouldn't be repairable.

There are only a few surgeons in North America who could perform this type of procedure. The doc who had been doing it the longest was in Canada, so we drove there to have it done. Ultimately he thought the surgery was too risky, but recommended a biopsy to rule out that the cyst was a tumor. We had the biopsy done and made the trip home. Biopsy came back inconclusive, which meant it was likely not cancerous.

Within a week of returning the cyst burst and Byron's retina became detached. We decided to try a different surgeon this time. We drove down to Virginia for Byron's retinal reattachment surgery.

The surgery was about a month ago and was successful, however Byron is not indicating that he has any sight. His retina may have degenerated to the point where it can no longer function. His eye pressure has been higher than usual lately (also, a blood clot formed which we had to dissolve), so he's been undergoing 24-hour surveillance where they check the pressure every hour to find out if pressure spikes may be the reason for the lack of sight.

That is where we stand now. I love Byron so, so much that I would do anything to restore his sight, but he seems to do just fine with vision in one eye. After months of weekly appointments and endless medications (on top of the procedures and constant worry) I have to admit that I'm completely emotionally exhausted! For now, though, we're just going to keep doing everything we can. He has another appt. tonight (for more surveillance).

 

[NewfMom]

Good luck with everything and thanks for the update. FWIW, remember that dogs adjust more easily than a human would to loss of sight. Their main senses are smelling and hearing. Most dogs that lose sight bounce back pretty quickly and do just fine.

 

[RiverTheNewf]

I have nothing to add except that uveitis in one eye is one thing, but uveitis in BOTH eyes does tend to be a systemic problem (I work for a human eye doctor and this just came up). Sorry you're having such problems, but we're thinking good thoughts for him. Keep us posted!