ABSTRACT
Ophthalmic manifestations of dental disease may occur in dogs and cats because of the proximity between posterior maxillary teeth and the orbit. Ophthalmic disorders may be diagnosed promptly, but the initiating dental disease may be overlooked. Inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of dental disease may result in loss of teeth, irreversible vision-threatening ophthalmic disease, or, ultimately, loss of the globe. When ophthalmic examination results are suggestive of a primary dental disorder, thorough examination of the maxillary teeth is imperative to diagnose appropriately the underlying dental disease. Therapy should include treatment of the dental disease and secondary ophthalmic disorders.
Subject(s)
Cat Diseases/etiology , Dog Diseases/etiology , Eye Diseases/veterinary , Tooth Diseases/veterinary , Tooth Extraction/veterinary , Animals , Cats , Conjunctival Diseases/etiology , Conjunctival Diseases/veterinary , Dogs , Eye Diseases/etiology , Nasolacrimal Duct/metabolism , Nervous System Diseases/etiology , Nervous System Diseases/veterinary , Orbital Diseases/etiology , Orbital Diseases/veterinary , Tooth Diseases/complications , Tooth Extraction/adverse effects , Uveal Diseases/etiology , Uveal Diseases/veterinaryABSTRACT
Data were collected from the medical records of 123 nondiabetic dogs (182 eyes) and 30 diabetic dogs (57 eyes) in which phacoemulsification surgery was performed. Pre- and postoperative comparisons, including signalment, initial ophthalmic examination findings, surgical variables, and postoperative findings for the short-term follow-up period (mean, 5.75 weeks), between nondiabetic and diabetic dogs revealed that the complication rate was not greater in the diabetic group. Postoperative uveitis was evident with nearly equal frequency (in nondiabetic dogs, 90% or 164 of 182 eyes and in diabetic dogs, 88% or 50 of 57 eyes). In nondiabetic dogs, 1% prednisolone ophthalmic solution and prednisone were administered pre- and postoperatively, and amoxicillin and dichlorphenamide postoperatively. In diabetic dogs, the same treatment regimen, except for treatment with flunixin meglumine IV at surgery and substitution of aspirin for prednisone, was used. When nondiabetic and diabetic dogs were treated according to their respective pre- and postoperative medical regimens, clinical differences in postoperative findings were not apparent.
