To Ask the Eye Specialist

This is the list of questions that I took with me to our ophthalogist’s appointment. Our list of answers is with the Ophthalmologist Visit entry. Another person might not need to ask all the same questions. For instance, not all dogs facing cataract surgery have diabetes, so those questions won’t be necessary for that dog. Medical conditions that we don’t face might be a factor for other dogs. The question about double merles will also only apply to some dogs.

  • How many cataract surgeries have you done in the past year?
  • How many of these dogs had diabetes?
  • What were the outcomes of these surgeries? (Diabetic vs. Non?)
    • How many dogs fully regained their vision? (Diabetic vs. Non?)
    • How long did they keep their vision? (Diabetic vs. Non?)
    • How many had no (or minor) changes to their vision? (Diabetic vs. Non?)
    • How many died? (Diabetic vs. Non?)
  • Are there health conditions that will affect the success of the surgery?
  • Does diabetes regulation affect the surgery?
  • How will his diabetes affect healing time?
  • Are there any additional potential complications for cataract surgery when the dog is a homozygous merle?
  • At what point is cataract surgery recommended?
    • How long will the dog be under for the surgery?
    • What are the pros and cons to lens implants?
    • Is blood glucose monitored during surgery? How, and how often? Who does it?
    • What anesthetic agents do you use?
    • After surgery, what medications are used? (Not looking for dosing amounts or schedules, just a list of what will be used.)
    • How long will he need to stay at the hospital?
    • What are the recommendations for food and insulin in diabetic patients, both day of and night before the surgery?
  • Is there anything I can do that will slow down cataract development?
  • Is this a permanent solution? Is there any chance of cataracts reoccurring (perhaps from a different cause), or other complications that can cause sight loss later on?
  • Are there advantages/disadvantages to doing both eyes are once vs. doing one and then the other at a later date?