In this dvm360® interview, Joshua J. Broadwater, DVM, DACVO, with Charlotte Animal Referral & Emergency in North Carolina, discusses dogs predisposed to corneal ulcers, what can cause them in young and old dogs, and diseases that can cause corneal ulcers. pets in danger.
Broadwater will lecture on ophthalmology at our Fetch Charlotte conference taking place March 15-17, 2024. here today to reserve your place.
The following is a partial transcript of the video.
Joshua J. Broadwater, DVM, DACVO: When we talk about corneal ulcers in dogs and cats, mainly dogs, because that’s what I see most frequently, but I think of them in my mind, divided into two different categories. So one category is the genetic or racial predisposition that we observe. So, Shih Tzus, I joke all the time that we could literally build a clinic right next to the Shih Tzus because they’re here all the time with ulcers, with pugs and Pekingese and Boston terriers. This is largely due to their racial predispositions, as they have much more prominent eyes, making them much more predisposed to ulcers or scratches. They are much more predisposed to dry eye or exposure keratopathy, characterized by dry spots on the cornea simply because they don’t blink or close their eyes either. Some also think they have decreased nerve sensation in the cornea. So they’re a little more prone to ulcers and infected ulcers because of the nerve plexus that’s also in their cornea. So we have this group that is more related to genetics or race.
Then we have young dogs and when we see young dogs for ulcers we should have some exclusions in mind. So you start to think about eyelid abnormalities like entropion, where the eyelid rolls up and the hairs rub on the cornea. We think of other abnormal hairs, such as distichia, these small hairs that come out of the openings of the meibomian glands and rub on the eye. Ectopic eyelashes, which are those very bristly little hairs that come out from under the eyelid and rub against the cornea when they blink. Things like corneal dystrophy, where dogs develop mineral deposits or lipid deposits in their corneas at a very young age that can cause irregularities every time they blink. Trauma for sure, many of these young men fight with other puppies or get a little too friendly with the cats and scratch their eye. So that would be the other category we would think about: young dogs. And those are some of the exclusions that we would see.