Eye Pigmentation Darkening b/c Hair Rubbing

It's probably bad manners to post the exact same post at 2 forums, but I am just so tired and dejected. I must go to bed but I really want to get this out there to see if anyone has any opinions. Again, I apologize, I just don't have it in me to retype it all differently. Mods/admins, I hope you don't mind.
I noticed the white part of Reggie's eye had darkened about 3 weeks ago. I decided to watch it and hope it was my imagination. Today, I was looking at him and noticed a dark brown speck of pigmentation on the actual cornea. I work at a vet, so he came with me today. The head vet was in and took a look at him. We did a tear test, and he came back fine for that. She basically said that there are hairs on his eyelids that are rubbing his eyes and causing the dark pigmentation. I am supposed to keep an eye on it, and if it worsens, it can easily restrict his vision possibly ending in blindness. There is a surgery to adjust the eyelids and stop this. She said in a month or so, or if it worsens, she'd reccomend seeing a specialist. I know there are a bunch of possiblities as what it is, along with many medical words to describe what it is and how to fix it.

Here is what has me bummed out. Growing up, we had a pug that stopped producing tears around the age of 6. I was about 4 yrs old at the time. Back then, a surgical procedure to fix the issue was roughly $600. Instead of paying the fee, my parents let Rocky go blind. My pugs are "just dogs" to my dad, and his comments about saving Reggie's vision is "Rocky did fine". I work at a vet's and they discount me a lot, but I don't think the vets would be comfortable doing a procedure Reggie might need. Plus, I'd rather a specialist do it! Reggie is only 5 yrs old, but if he needs surgery that is probably at least $1,000, I highly doubt my dad will pay. I'm in college and have rent to pay, plus, if I used my money, my dad would probably be so furious he'd stop helping pay for school. I don't know what to do. I know I'm worrying about something that's in the future, but I leave for school at the end of August. Also, I know blind dogs do fine, but if we have the finances, it kills me that Reg would possibly go blind because my dad feels he doesn't deserve the surgery.



Thanks for reading, and sorry this is so long.

It sounds like you are describing pigmentary keratosis. A lot of pugs get it - Penny has it, I know that Alice's Cyril has it, and quite a few others. It does not mean automatic blindness! It is treatable. When I got Penny, hers was pretty far advanced, and when we were in Ohio, I took her to the vet school at OSU. They told me that she has pretty good vision in her left eye and not much in her right eye, and put her on Tacrolimus drops. That twice a day and Genteal gel every 3-4 hours, and it has not progressed. She gets around just fine, the only problem is when another dog comes up on her right side and suddenly appears in her field of vision. Not pretty. We are very lucky to have an excellent vet opthalmologist here in Reno, and he tells me that Penny is on the proper regimen for her PK. I'm not sure where in Illinois you are, or how far from the nearest vet school, and I highly recommend going to the vet school and having Reggie seen there, or getting a referral to the nearest vet ophthalmologist. As far as surgery goes, the vet ophalmologist and the experts at OSU vet school both said that surgery is not necessarily a good thing for PK. They both said that if it is caught early, progression can be stopped with the proper treatment, and they only recommend surgery for really bad cases.

For what it is worth, we were seeing a very good vet in Ohio, and he did a tear test that came back normal, too. When we got to OSU vet school, they told me that, although she was producing tears in both eyes, they didn't have whatever it is that lubricates the eyes, so she really needed the Genteal gel in addition to the tacrolimus drops.

And huge hugs to you and to Reggie. Please keep me posted.

I believe that applies to PK when the eyelashes are not causing it. If it is caused by entropion, eye lubrication is not going to be enough. The lashes will still rub and the eye will get worse. Sorry.

I agree with both ladies above. I think what I would do is make an appt. with a vet ophthamologist and be sure you know exactly what is causing the PK. It could be due to dryness or some kind of previous trauma. Nell had untreated corneal ulcers when we got her and as a result has pretty bad PK. She doesn't see perfectly but certainly does fine. If it's being caused by Reggie's eyelids being turned under and hair rubbing, you will have to have it treated. I've never had the issue with my pugs so I'm sure others can give you more information about the actual procedure.

I would probably make an appointment with an eye specialist as well. Gracie had an ulcer on her eye so we had to go to the eye specialist and while looking at the ulcer, he found that her hair on her lids were rubbing her eyes and it was the beginning stages of causing the pigmentation to her eye. I have to put a lubricant in her eye twice a day for the rest of her life. He told me this lubricant would help with the pigmentation that is starting and keep it from getting worse. This is the stuff he has me using: http://www.entirelypets.com/puvetoi3.html But, your case could be different so I would see a specialist.

Theresa, another thing to just ask the vet about is whether there could be just one hair causing an issue since the problem seems to have popped up suddenly. It's a long shot but a couple years ago Lucy started having an issue with one eye and she'd never had any eye issues before. I thought for sure she'd scratched it but when I took her to the eye doc she said she had a hair growing inside her eyelid. She still had to be sedated but it was a very quick and easy procedure where the vet basically just froze the hair at the root so it would die and not come back. She hasn't had any eye issues since and has never had issues with dryness, etc.

Amanda wrote:Theresa, another thing to just ask the vet about is whether there could be just one hair causing an issue since the problem seems to have popped up suddenly. It's a long shot but a couple years ago Lucy started having an issue with one eye and she'd never had any eye issues before. I thought for sure she'd scratched it but when I took her to the eye doc she said she had a hair growing inside her eyelid. She still had to be sedated but it was a very quick and easy procedure where the vet basically just froze the hair at the root so it would die and not come back. She hasn't had any eye issues since and has never had issues with dryness, etc.

This is distichia. Gooey didn't have to be sedated for removing single eyelashes and it was done by the specialist on a couple of occasions in a few minutes. No after effects.

pugpillow wrote:

Amanda wrote:Theresa, another thing to just ask the vet about is whether there could be just one hair causing an issue since the problem seems to have popped up suddenly. It's a long shot but a couple years ago Lucy started having an issue with one eye and she'd never had any eye issues before. I thought for sure she'd scratched it but when I took her to the eye doc she said she had a hair growing inside her eyelid. She still had to be sedated but it was a very quick and easy procedure where the vet basically just froze the hair at the root so it would die and not come back. She hasn't had any eye issues since and has never had issues with dryness, etc.

This is distichia. Gooey didn't have to be sedated for removing single eyelashes and it was done by the specialist on a couple of occasions in a few minutes. No after effects.

Good to know! I had never dealt with it before but if we have another issue in the future I'll see if we can avoid the anesthesia.

Ugh! That is frustrating! Can you take him to a specialist while you are still home? I'd probably go and try to get it narrowed down as to exactly what it is-if it's drops or whether he would need surgery.

THEN, once you have that info, I'd try to talk to your dad. I have had to do this with mine (not about pet stuff but about other stuff when I was younger), and what seemed to work best was to have a plan-maybe you could say since your interest and future work (I think if I remember right!) is working with animals, you feel like this should be taken care of, and while blind pugs do fine, if it's easily fixable, you would like to explore options on how to achieve that. Could you maybe see if if they would pay for it up front, you would make monthly payments (if feasible?). That way you could work in that it's a good responsibility for you too.

How old is Reggie? When Chester was less than a year old, he had that problem of the eyelid kind of turning into the eye and the eyelashes irritating him something awful. I think we used some sort of drops and kept monitoring it. As he grew older, the eyelid corrected itself and we were okay.

I agree that a visit with an eye specialist will help answer a lot of questions.

Good luck with Reggie.

I definitely recommend a visit with the veterinary ophthalmologist. Sammy had a medial canthoplasty in January, and it was cheaper than I would've thought. It was done by an ophthalmologist, and was only $575. Admittedly, he only has one eye, so the surgical fee itself was slightly lower, but some things like anesthesia and stuff like that don't double the price for 2 eyes. Plus, if you could get the vet you work with to help you on some of the non-surgical things like the pre-op blood work and post-op pain meds, that could help hold the cost down.

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for all of the responses. I think I'm going to go see the specialist in our area. If anything, at least then I can know exactly what it is that I'm dealing with. The weird thing with my dad is that, while he won't want to spend money to fix the issue, he will be angry if I do and would refuse to accept my money as payments for it. From working this summer, I have the money to get the procedure done. But if I were to pay for it myself, then I have no rent money for next year and I would have to have my parents help with that.

My mom seems to feel that my dad would pay for the surgery if he needs it done. She doesn't work, so it's not like she can help me set aside work money for the procedure.

Reggie is 5 yrs old. Something must have changed within the last couple of months about the way his face folds lay. His right eye is where the pigmentation is noticable on the cornea, but upon looking at both eyes, his left has a small cloudy mark in the same spot. I wish it were just a couple of hairs that could be pulled. I had not noticed it was his eyelid, but if you're looking for it, you can see where the rubbing is going to occur when he blinks.

I will start with the specialist and go from there, I think. Thanks again for all of the opinions and responses.

Theresa, please keep us posted on what the various dogtors say. Huge hugs to you and to Reggie.

Good luck Theresa! I hope it's not something that requires surgery. Please keep us posted.

I called the number for the opthalmologist, and I guess they are traveling and come to vet's offices in the area. One close to me has them visit only about once a month. I'm going to call them Monday and hopefully they're in the area soon. Ugh, this is not easy and it worries me b/c I'm leaving at the end of August.

Where do you live in Illinois? I drove out to Buffalo Grove and had Dr. Denise Lindley do the medial canthoplasty on Lemon.
http://www.animaleyeconsultant.com/ourdocs.php

We had excellent results. The pigmentation stopped in its tracks, and her vision is great. We don't need daily drops or anything -- though that's a totally valid way to go.

I've been away and didn't see your post. We're in the same boat in terms of our pups experiencing similar things it seems.

Wally has had eyelashes removed (distichasis) 2x. The problem is, they can still grow back. I'm pretty sure, given how big the spots (I'm assuming it's PK) are, that surgery will be recommended, and I'm sure I'll end up at a specialist, although I'm seeing our regular vet (who specializes in brachycephalic breeds) tomorrow.

Wally is only 4, which makes me think the surgery will be necessary to stave off blindness.

Just sending lots of support Theresa!