Bacterial Keratitis

Wilson has had an operation after a small ucleration of his right eye. The ucleration wasn't the problem but a bacteria called "KERATITIS" who started to eat the collagen inside his eye. The bacteria only entered the first layer of the cornea Saturday night but by Monday it entered the last layer and perforated the eye so an operation to remove the bacteria and reconstruction of the cornea was a must. Below is a quick articule about it...

"Corneal indentations and depressions are indicative of deeper stromal ulcerations. These ulcerations are often associated with bacterial infections (bacterial keratitis). Clinical signs of bacterial keratitis include corneal edema, corneal stromal cell infiltration, corneal melting, and the loss of corneal stroma (see picture). Scrapings of the infected area should be cytologically examined and submitted for culture and sensitivity testing. These serious infections usually require referral to an ophthalmologist, and hospitalization for hourly antibiotic and antiprotease treatment. Antibiotics and other drugs are delivered via the tear film since the cornea lacks a blood supply. Therapeutic drug concentrations are difficult to sustain in dogs with their high tear film turnover rate."

"Most dogs with bacterial keratitis are brachycephalic, and about half will show decreased tear production (15 mm/min). Many brachycephalic dogs are lagophthalmic and so poorly replenish the tear film by blinking. In these breeds, medial canthal trichiasis and distichia can both cause ulceration and inoculate bacteria within the tear film. Dogs with decreased tear production do not effectively remove and lyse bacteria from the corneal surface. In these cases, bacterial access to the corneal epithelium is also increased."

Wilson has dry eyes due to the lack of tear glands from birth, even with the addition of a lubricant gel twice a day, it wasn't enough to help the eye to fight the bacteria. Next week we are going to see the specialist to see if the bacteria was removed 100%. If the infection has done more damage the last thing will be to remove the eye completely but we are not at the stage and we are all hopeful for a good results.