Does dog cataract surgery work?

QMY eight-year-old poodle has recently developed cataracts and is showing signs of poor vision. My vet says a specialist opinion is the best option. Is cataract surgery usually successful in dogs?

ACATARACT surgery in dogs has a very high success rate of more than 90 per cent.

Assessment is indeed best undertaken by specialist surgeons, as your vet has suggested.

Specialists train for at least three years, leading to higher qualifications, and use advanced equipment such as an operating microscope, identical to those used in human cataract surgery.

The cost to pet owners reflects this. However, specialist assessment is important, as not every dog will benefit from a cataract operation.

Problems must be identified, such as retinal damage leading to cataract formation. And there is little point operating in some cases as sight will still be very poor afterwards.

The procedure is performed through

Our vet David Grant works his animal magic

small incisions and the cataract is broken down by ultrasound.

It used to be the opinion that the operation could wait until the cataract was “mature” but, as in humans, this is no longer felt to be the case as there is a risk of inflammation in the interior of the eye if there is a delay.

Aftercare for the first month or so is intensive with daily eye drops and minimal supervised exercise using a harness instead of a collar to avoid pressurising the eye when pulling on the lead.

● David Grant MBE was a vet at the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital for Animals. Write to him at Express Yourself, 10 Lower Thames St, London, EC3R 6EN. He is unable to enter into individual correspondence.