Abnormal Eyelids

There were several interesting cases at the clinic this week.  One such case involved a young pitbull puppy about five to six months old who had been brought in to be spayed.  As I took the dog out of its kennel to be prepped for surgery, I noticed something was not quite right with her eyes.  They looked swollen and inflamed and a pus-like discharge was coming from the corners of the eyes.  After inspecting her eyes for a few moments I was confident that I knew what the problem was.  I had never seen a case in real life, but I remembered reading about the same eye problem in a James Herriot book.  I couldn't remember the name of the condition so I asked one of the veterinarians and he told me the dog was suffering from entropion.  Entropion is a genetic condition that occurs in a wide variety of dog breeds in which a portion of the eyelid is inverted or folded inward.  The inward folding may occur on the top or bottom lid or both.  This can cause the eyelashes to scratch and irritate the surface of the eye, resulting in a corneal ulceration.  In the long run, entropion can cause a decrease or loss of vision if not treated.  Entropion can be treated by using eye drops to alleviate some of the irritation.  A temporary surgery known as "tacking" can be performed by rolling the eyelids back and holding them in place with sutures.  This surgery is usually performed on young puppies in hopes that the dog will grow into the skin around the eyes.  Surprisingly enough, the condition can be permanently corrected by a simple surgery.  A small sliver of the affected eyelid or eyelids is removed and the remaining gap is stitched together, which in turn everts the eyelid away from the eyeball.