# Cherry Eye



## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

This weird eye thing happened the other day with Mikey. It looked like part of his eye was bulging out and it's really red. I got all freaked out and took him to the vet and he said it's called Cherry Eye. He said that it's nothing to worry about and that it can easily be corrected with a simple quick surgery. He said there's no real reason why this happens to some dogs, it just does. I went to google to read about it and all the articles on there also said surgery is needed to fix it. Sooooooo it looks like poor Mikey is going to have to have a little surgery, but what I'm wondering is...will this fix the problem once and for all and will it come back? I hate to even subject him to surgery, but it would be a shame to let him go thru his whole life with this red bulging unsightly thing on his eye. Has anyone gone thru this and if so, what was the outcome? The vet said most of the time the surgery takes care of it and that's the end of it, but sometimes the little sutures they use don't hold and it has to be done again. Any advice or information about this please.

Thanks,
Brenda


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## adorableaccentsdogbows (Aug 9, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your little one. This link is really helpful. It gives you some options and pictures.
Good luck
http://www.eyevet.info/cherry.html


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

I personally have not had to deal with it but have over the years known several pooches who had this problem. I can only think of one that needed a re-do. I know there are a couple of techniques used, one of which can cause a bit more problem with dry-eye than the other. I don't know why one technique might be used over the other...sorry. but you might want to discuss the possibility. If that becomes an issue, you'd just have to put artificial tears in a few times a day.
Here's a link I found.


http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/ce.html

Terry, Naddie and Angel Missy


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Lady developed a small cherry eye right after I adopted her at age 4&1/2. It's awful looking, but is really just a cosmetic issue, nothing medically serious.

How old is Mikey? If he hasn't been neutered yet or needs a dental, I'd wait and have it done at the same time. It will cut down on the anesthesia risk, plus it will much easier on your pocketbook!

Ask your vet about doing both eyes. My vet said that often one will develop in the other eye, so they like to do both at the same time.

I believe cherry eye is genetic, so you should tell your breeder about Mikey's eye. Reptuable breeders like to be made aware of problems like this.


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## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

> I personally have not had to deal with it but have over the years known several pooches who had this problem. I can only think of one that needed a re-do. I know there are a couple of techniques used, one of which can cause a bit more problem with dry-eye than the other. I don't know why one technique might be used over the other...sorry. but you might want to discuss the possibility. If that becomes an issue, you'd just have to put artificial tears in a few times a day.
> Here's a link I found.
> 
> 
> ...



Terry...Thank you so much for taking the time to find that link for me to check out the surgery for Cherry Eye. I also found a bunch of links on google, but this one was better showing the actual surgery. I have no idea which technique will be used, but all I really want is, a one time thing. I hate having Mikey put under anaestesia and would hate to have to do this twice. 

Thanks Alot,
Brenda




> Lady developed a small cherry eye right after I adopted her at age 4&1/2. It's awful looking, but is really just a cosmetic issue, nothing medically serious.
> 
> How old is Mikey? If he hasn't been neutered yet or needs a dental, I'd wait and have it done at the same time. It will cut down on the anesthesia risk, plus it will much easier on your pocketbook!
> 
> ...




What happened with Lady's cherry eye? Did she have to have surgery? Mikey's 10 months old and has already been neutered, wish this would have happen before so I could have taken care of both things at once. The thing about having both eyes done is a very good point and I will ask the vet about that. And I will call the breeder and let her know about this...Thanks


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Lady had the surgery along with her dental. She was just fine afterwards.

Yeah, at 10 months Mikey will probably have to have it done separately since it will be years before he needs a dental and has already been neutered. I don't know what kind of heath guarentee you got, but perhaps your breeder will cover the surgery since he most likely inherited the tendency.

CHERRY EYE - is a swollen or prolapsed gland of the third eyelid. The gland protrudes and becomes irritated and inflamed. It is strongly suspected that Cherry Eye is due to a weakness of the connective tissue. It appears to be a heritable problem. If one eye develops cherry eye, then the other eye may also be predisposed. Sometimes the gland can simply be tucked back in but it may prolapse again. The most common treatment is to reposition the gland and surgically tack it into place.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

My sister dog sits two Boston Terriers and just this weekend the male had a flare up of his cherry eye. Usually their vet just manipulates it back into place. I thought cherry eye was mainly a problem with bug eyed breeds.. is it unusual for it to happen in Maltese?


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I think cocker spaniels are prone to it, too. 

I don't know about Maltese. My poor Lady seems to have inherited every genetic disease out there! I swear she's like the proverbial used car that the little old lady only drove on Sundays! She was perfectly healthy for almost 5 years according to my neighbor who rescued her and had known Lady since she was a puppy.

One month after I adopted her she was officially diagnosed with epilepsy, a month after that her cherry eye popped out, then a year and 1/2 later she was diagnosed with diabetes, then a year later allergies and arthritis!

I refer to genetic disease as "ticking time bombs", but in Lady's case it was more like a nuclear explosion!


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

According to Foxstone Maltese, cherry eye is one of the genetic problems Maltese are prone to.

http://www.foxstonemaltese.com/maltese_faqs.htm


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