Teddy, an eight-year-old Miniature Schnauzer, has made a full recovery after undergoing a remarkable procedure to re-route saliva to his eyes to combat a painful eye condition, dry eye,that made him struggle to see. Teddy underwent this operation at the renowned Dick White Referrals (DWR) in Cambridgeshire, which is owned by Linnaeus.
His delighted owner, Tracey Bonser, from Stowmarket in Suffolk, says there was not a dry eye in the house when Teddy arrived back home after treatment. She said: “It was wonderful. Teddy was back to his usual, mischievous self and it was such a relief.
“It had been so painful for him to try and open his eyes, and he was always rubbing his eyes against the sofa and on walks he’d be bumping into walls and slipping off kerbs because he couldn’t see properly.
“His quality of life was awful and we were really concerned because he was really going downhill but our local vets referred us to Dick White Referrals and they were absolutely phenomenal.”
Georgina Fricker, DWR’s consultant in ophthalmology, took charge of the case. She said: “Teddy was suffering from ‘dry eye’ in both eyes, a condition that leads to a reduction in tear production, making the animal’s eyes inflamed and uncomfortable.
“He initially had eye ointments and drops to reduce his immune response, as well as tear replacers, but he stopped responding to all medication and was holding his eyes shut more than he had them open. We decided the best solution was to relocate the parotid salivary ducts from his mouth up to his eyes and it worked very well.
“Teddy bounced back brilliantly from surgery and now whenever he smells, thinks of, or eats food, saliva appears in both his eyes!”.
Owner Tracey added: “Teddy is happily playing again with our other miniature schnauzer Yogi and his eyes are so much better. After being so dry, his eyes are now streaming when you wave some food for him or are preparing his meals.
“I’d definitely recommend Dick White Referrals to other dog owners; in fact, I already have. I’m part of a group of miniature schnauzer owners and I’ve told them all about how good they are!”.
Dick White Referrals offers specialist-led care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, diagnostic pathology, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, interventional radiology, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, physiotherapy and soft tissue surgery.
For more information visit their website or search for Dick White Referrals on social media.
