Uveitis- what to do?

[Donna]

As some of you already know my beautiful mare "Beth" developed Uveitis last year. It is speculated that her Uveitis was brought on by trauma. She has been tested and was NEG for Leptospirosis. After having been treated over the period of several long months with Topicals and Banamine, Beth was diagnosed with some detatchment of her retina and left with very little vision. Since October,2007, Beth has been out with other mares enjoying her paddock and being a horse. Last Friday I discovered that her Eye was yet again inflamed. I immediatly had the vet out and started the Usual Treatment for her condition which again is Topical Steroid Ointment and Banamine. She responded well within a day and I was off again to NC States Opthamology Dept. The experts there have found that she had developed one cataract and the surface of the eye was in very good shape, however, the back of her eye was still very much inflammed and therefore they increased her topicals to Four times a day and I am now giving her the highest amount of Banamine allowed to her by weight, twice daily. She is also on a preventative dose of Ulcergaurd.

The Dr.s at NC State want me to come back on Thursday, Feb. 14th. for re-evaluation and if she is found to be a candidate at that time, they will do surgery on her eye on Friday to implant a Cyclosporin Disk that releases meds to the back of the eye over a period of 2-4yrs. It is believed that this might keep her flare-ups at bay. I would very much like to find some people that have gone through this that I can talk to, if any of you should know of anyone that has had the surgery please give them my number- 804-382-8980.

This whole situation with Beth has been a very emotional time for me. I have struggled with questions and anwers for almost a year now. I have searched the web over and over looking for information and answers and yet, I still feel very lost in my search. I have ordered a Mask, The Guardian Mask, that has had Great! reviews from across the globe. It has a 97% UVA protected shield for the eye and will protect the eye from rubbing and further injuries. I have been told that it has worked wonders in horses with ReOccuring Uveitis.

I have Beth insured. The surgery is covered up to $5,000 and then there will be no more funds to work with. I have to do what every I am going to do because her insurance runs out on March 10th. After which, there will be no more funds. I only know of two other options, and they both favor taking the eye.

I have heard that horses do well with one eye and that is really not holding me back, I want to do what is best for my horse. But I want to make a most informable decision.

I would appreciate all opinions and information anyone has to give me. I know that I will not be able to cover the cost of this surgery should it work and she needs to have it again and again, it is just not something I can do and I do not want to be slandered upon because I cant. I am looking for support here. This is a very hard decsion and I would not wish this on anyone.

I need that right now. If you are sincere in your heart and have information that you feel would be helpful to me, please let me know. " Time is Running Out "

 

[J&HMinis]

I saw this on another board, thought maybe ot would help.

Uveitis

 

[Mona]

Donna, I am sorry to say, I have no advice to offer, but just wanted to say good luck with your beautiful mare. I hope she can get some long term relief with this surgery.

 

[SHANA]

I had a arabian mare with recurrent uveitis. She was totally blind but a great mother and great riding horse. I loved that mare and had to put her down in 2003 due to really bad heaves. She had been totally blind since 1997 but had failing vision since 1994. That mare and I had a special bond. I coudl ride her baraback and bridleless even when she was blind. I miss her but own 2 of her daughters.

 

[CrescentMinis]

I hope the implant procedure gives your beautiful mare some relief. It is very expensive, but I know we try to do whatever we can to keep our horses healthy!

I will be watching this thread to learn from what people post about Uveitis. My filly was diagnosed as a foal with a form of Recurrent Equine Uveitis because her eyes were constantly draining. The equine eye specialist she was taken to stated that it was due to an infection her dam had passed on in utero. But they thought the treatment they gave at that time was going to prevent future problems. I can't tell yet; her eyes still do run almost daily, and are more easily irritated and seem a little sensitive to bright light. They also have a slightly "protruding" appearance, worse on one side, when you look down at her from above.

 

[bluerogue]

Hi Donna! I just wanted to say I hope you find out what you want to know about this surgery. We have a mare with one eye... but Missy lost hers as a very young foal, due to an accident. I don't think she even remembers she ever had two eyes. But she does very well, and has never missed it. I think Beth would do well with one eye, after the initial adjustment period.

I have a friend who had several eye injuries one year (we speculated they must be sticking their heads through the fence... because we never could identify what they did to injure their eyes), that resulted in mares losing eyes. Both of them recovered well from the surgery and are doing etremely well now, with just one eye. Neither of them seem to even notice they lost an eye. All three of these mares (Missy, Mariah, and Jiji) are broodmares (now). Mariah is an aged mare... she's I believe 19? now, and was a broodmare before and after. Missy lost hers at about 1 or 2 weeks of age, and I think Jiji was 4 when she lost hers. Jiji was pregnant (unbeknownst to her owner) at the time of surgery and foaled a grogeous sorrel overo colt on time. We weren't sure she was bred in the first place, and then were sure she wouldn't be after the surgery. So Magic was a bit of a surprise.

But losing an eye only means no more showing. Our Missy missed out on being shown, but she sure doesn't miss out on anything else! The only thing we do different with her is that I am careful to always let her know if I am coming up to her on the wrong side, so she knows I'm there. I learned that early on, so I call her before I get close. If I am working on her "bad" side, I stay in contact with her... by always keeping a hand on her somewhere. This is more for her mental well being knowing where I am than anything else.

She's never been a kicker, and acts very normal, with no gait abnormalities or anything (I say gait abnormailities because she runs with her head cocked to one side so she can see better). She's a little diva, accustomed to being spoiled from a very early age. So she's a people horse, and other than being one eyed, is very normal.

I am, however, ALWAYS careful to tell people she is missing an eye, so they don't scare her. This is for Missy's sake... I am not worried that she'll kick or anything, I just don't want her scared needlessly. Generally people don't notice she only has one eye unless I point it out. This is a precaution I again learned the hard way, after visitors to the boarding facility scared her right into a fence. She didn't realize she was that close to the fence, and you can bet those girls heard about it from me right then and there! She was fine, just scared, because she didn't know what was going on.

Anyway, even should Beth lose her eye, or just her sight, she will still be Beth. She just won't see on that side anymore. You'll see some differences (like cocking her head more to see, and possibly more alert with her ears), but otherwise, she'll be the same Beth you are familiar with. She's a beautiful mare, and I wish you all the luck in the world to help Beth overcome her uveitis, so you can enjoy each others company in the years to come.

 

[albahurst]

Hi Donna- I have recently come across an article that was in Miniature Horse World, Oct/Nov 2005 issue. The article is entitled ' Equine Ophthalmology for Horse Owners.' The author is Dr Brooks, DVM PhD Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. I will quote from the portion of the article, subtitled Treat Uveitis', on pg 76. It says,

" Atropine sulfate is a common theraperutic agent for equine eye problems. Topically applied atropine (1%) is effective in stabilizing the blood-aqueous barrier, reducing vascular protein leakage, minimizing pain from ciliary muscle spasm, and reducing the chance of synechia formation by causing pupillary dilatation.

Atropine may be utilized topically q4h to q6h (every 4 to 6 hours) with the frequency of administration reduced as soon as the pupil dilates.

Topical atropine has been shown to prolong intestinal transit time, reduce and abolish intestinal sounds, and diminish the normal myoelectric patterns in the small intestine and large colon of horses. Some horses appear more sensitive than others to these atropine effects, and may "respond" by displaying signs of colic and/or prolonged intestinal transit time.

Systemically administered NSAIDs such as phenylbutazone (1 gm BID PO) or flunixin meglumine (1 mg/kg BID, IV, IM or PO) can be used orally or parenterally and are effective in reducing uveal exudation and relieving ocular discomfort from the anterior uveitis in horses with ulcers.

Topical nonsteriodal anti-inflammatiory drugs (NSAIDs) such as profenol, flurpbiprofen, and diclofenamic acid (BID to TID) can also reduce the degree of uveitis.

Horses with corneal ulcers and secondary uveitis should be stall-rested until the condition is healed. Introcular hemorrhage and increased severity of uveitis are sequelae to overexertion."

Perhaps some of this information will be helpful to you. I wish you all the best--

Peggy

Alba Hurst Miniature Horse Ranch

 

[WeeOkie]

Oh, Donna, I'm so sorry to read about your gorgeous Beth. Since you have the insurance to cover the first surgery, I would sure give it a try. Maybe once will be all she needs it. But if it doesn't fix her permanently and she has to lose the eye, she will (as others have said) get along just fine. I remember back in my racing days the fastest little one-eyed racing Thoroughbred. She was a full hand smaller than those she raced against, but she was hot stuff! So I know they can do all sorts of things with only one eye -- if it comes to that, and she will always be your special Beth.

Good luck, Rita