Hi Everyone!
My name is Dan, and I am a veterinarian. Today I am talking about cataracts in the dog. A cataract is when the lens gets cloudy and makes it really hard for the dog to see.
Cataracts in the dog can happen for a number of different reasons. Dogs can have congenital (born with them) and develop them with age. A really common cause of cataracts is diabetes from all the excess sugar in the body.
Cataracts can be so bad that the dog can go blind from them. This can be really hard on the dog and the pet parent.
The lens function is to allow the eye to see both far and near. The lens will change its shape every so slightly to allow for near and far sight. The problem happens when the lens becomes cloudy. The cloudy lens which is a cataract will make it very hard to get any of the vision from the anterior chamber of the eye all the way to the retina.
The goal of the veterinarian is to remove the cloudy contents of the lens and place a new lens. This is commonly done and it is call a phacoemulsification. This very long word means the veterinarian is going to remove or suck the contents of the lens out of the eye, and they will then replace it with a new lens.
This will give the dog back amazing vision. It is just incredible that a dog can be blind from a cataract and sight can be restored.
