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[carolh]

Hi folks,
Here's my question for the day.  Has anyone had a dog with blasto in the eye bad enough to take the sight of the eye, who recovered without removal of the eye?  (Didn't Wilson have it in his eye but he still has his eyes?)  I'm thinking of the blasto buried deep in Margie's bone and wonder if Mika's is buried deep in the dead eye.  WOndering if I should consider having that eye removed (HATE that thought, hate worse the chance of losing her).
Carol

[Wilson3]

very possible ...anything is

Marge ,Eves girl still has her Eye

Wilson has
Progressive Retinal Atrophy  (PRA) nothing to do w/blasto born with it
wilson3

[evayola]

Carol,

Marge had blasto in her eye and the eye was kept in place. My vet actually had a discussion with the leading vets in blasto and they said that there is NO need to remove the eye once the retina has detached and the eye is stable. I am not sure what the exact reasoning is behind it but they said that it was a breakthrough because before they always suggested to take the eye out so that the blasto could not hide there. My concern was always that it was hiding in Marges eye so thats why my vet chatted with this woman. She said it is not possible for the blasto to live in an eye with a detached retina. I do not know if it is because once the retina is detached it cant make its way there?! If Mikas eye is stable I personally would not mess with it. Marges eye has its days where it may goo but what we do is get the Refresh lubricating drops and just keep it wet. The vet is still always checking her eyes just in case. How is Mika doing? What meds are you all on now? Itra or flucon? Have you all done an ultrasound to make sure its not in any organs? I know it sounds extreme but when we couldnt clear Marge of it we did the ultrasound just to be sure and also to check her kidneys. Everything looks fantastic except for her bone that has it lodged in there.  Keep us posted please. I have been thinking of you guys.

Eva & Marge

[carolh]

Thanks, Eva,

Good to hear that blasto can't live in the stabl

e but now dead eye with destroyed retina.  I would prefer BY FAR not to remove that bad eye. 

We will do kidney tests in March.  She hasn't undergone an ultrasound -- not sure, as we're treating her again if that's necessary (?)  Mika is back on itraconazole.  The month past the good reading, we treated with fluconazole.  Now back to meds direct to eye and intra.  So far, so good.  She still runs around like her crazy girl self.  But she hasn't much patience for the direct to eye treatments.  Good thing she loves her duck treats.

Maybe we should consider ultrasound just to get clearer picture of what's going on.  No coughing, limping or sores.  I guess in the scheme of things, we're terrifically lucky!
Carol

[paintubturner]

My Gunner lost sight in both eyes from Blasto.  Purdue small animal hospital here in Indiana wanted to remove his eyes immediately but I just couldnt do it.  His retinas are fully detached and has been Blasto free coming a year in a few months!  I do put pred drops in his eyes a couple times a week when I notice they are starting to get some redness/swelling.  It no longer needs the truspot drops for his glaucoma (pressure) and has been off those for about 6 months now.  I am glad that I didnt have Gunners eyes removed.  His eyes also never changed color to the cloudy or white color that some blind dogs seem to have.  So if you were to meet Gunner you would never know he was blind unless I told you and he lives a full and happy life just like he did before he went blind. 

[mhitesman]

Comet lost his right eye to blasto. Although the vet wanted to remove it and mentioned blasto could "hide" there, we tried hard to save it.  It ruptured and was removed in emergency surgery.  The vet also said that he was not a candidate for a prosthetic eye for the same reason.  Even though this is a reknowned teaching hospital, and I think the vets are stellar, I do not believe everything about blasto is known ...and even what some think to be truth will inevitably turn out to be wrong as more is learned.  This same vet also told me that blasto is ALWAYS breathed in and results in a lung infection first.  Comet never had a cough or a lung infection as evidenced by no scarring, according to the vet.  For this reason, she thought Comet did not have blasto because his lungs were not infected.  The miravista labs urine test indicated he did have blasto but that it was diagnosed early (but not enough to save his eye).  We are kind of on our own and only have each other to bounce some of these ideas and notions off as we try to make these important decisions for our buds..Speaking of that, my Comet and I start agility training tomorrow!  We never went back to field trial competition, and my boy needs some work to do.  Anyone else do agility?  I don't know the first thing about it yet!

[carolh]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies.
mhitesman is right, we're on our own essentially and therefore rely even more on this wonderful community of dog lovers.  I've decided to keep Mika's eye in.  It is very stable.  She is doing fine but must be on medication a good deal longer. 
Good luck with the agility work.  I've never done it with my dogs but it looks awesome.  Hale Bopp is too old now and Mika -- well, red bone coon hound/pinsher/dachshund mix -- you can see the problem there.  We call her our beagle in disguise as every possible thing distracts her.
Carol