It wasn’t enough that he had uveitis but also developed glaucoma in his right eye which caused pressure to build up so another eye drop was needed. Due to long-term use of prednisone, he developed corneal ulcers that are painful causing him to squint. He often kept his eye completely closed due to light sensitivity. His eye would also have a watery discharge. To top it off he developed a rare condition called bullous keratopathy. Bullous keratopathy describes severe edema (fluid buildup) of the cornea (the outside window or surface of the eye) where blister like spots develop. Yet again another eye drop was needed (sodium chloride)!
Bullous Keratopathy
His eye condition worsened even with constant medicating and eventually left him almost completely blind. After years of twice a day medications using drops for his eyes and oral pills, which Sylvester hated!!! And many many trips to see his regular veterinarian, as well as the eye specialist from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Bauer, Sylvester’s owner finally decided to enucleate (remove) both of his eyes. This was a very difficult decision for her but felt in the end it would be the best thing for Sylvester.
Dr. Patzwald performed his surgery, which went great (except the not having his eyes) and Silly has made a full recovery. It is amazing how quickly he has adapted. His owner tries to keep furniture in the same place and does not leave items in the way of his routine routes in order to make things a little easier for him. Although nothing seems to stop him if he decides he wants to go somewhere.