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Happy News

   Nov. 6
Today at a re-check with Dr.Tinsley, we were all delighted to see that the surgery has given
Tiberius some marked improvement.

His tear values have improved notably - from 14 and 17 in August, to 21 and 23 now.
Tear values are measured by inserting small treated match-stick sized
test papers into each eye. As the eye waters a blue dye registers the amount.

Best of all - a newer portion of the pigmentation noted previously
has vanished.
Receded.
Disappeared.
This is the best news we've had about Ty's eyes in 2 years and there was
much fine celebrating done.
The original dark patches have not changed much...but they haven't grown either.
Tiberius will continue to need Tear Gel and Garasone drops daily for the
forseeable future.

We'd now like to say: Thank you, Dr. Tinsley :-)

Full recovery

  Sept. 12
Ty didn't require sedation for the suture removal and he was home by noon.
Within a day or two there was little sign that he'd had his "eye lift".
He's made a full recovery over the past several weeks.
He's gone through 3 e-collars and continued to wear one to deal with an
itching problem similar to what occurred last year at this time. For it, he had a
steroid shot, plus medication and continued wearing of the collar for 2 1/2 weeks.

It's been a long, hot summer. Bring on the fall...and the *next* Ottawa PugNic!
Ty will be so happy to ~ see ~ everyone.

Sutures Removed

August 22, 10:00 am
Tiberius went in this morning to have his sutures removed. The 3-minute procedure requires
sedation so that he'll be still. He was there by 8 a.m. The estimated cost of this
is $75 plus taxes.
Waiting for this is not nearly as nerve-wracking as the wait during the operation
but it is still hard. More when I get him home...whenever they call.

Good Check-up

July 26
It took about 2 1/2 days for the drugs to wear off and Ty's been doing just fine.
His eyes are healing well and the sutures holding.
His post-op regime includes 2 kinds of eye drops twice a day.
One is an antibiotic on the incisions called Fucithalmic; the other is Tear Gel.
As usual, giving eye-drops is a 2-person job!
We had to replace his first e-collar because he banged it up to the point of
breaking it in some places. He still wants to rush head-long towards things
and consequently dents his 'satellite dish'.
(Yesterday, somebody on the street asked - "Is that dog receiving radar?"
It really does look like that with the clear collar.)
All in all, he's tolerating everything surprisingly well.
He can eat with the collar on and sleeps without fussing.
He'll need to wear it for about 10 more days.
Because of it we're not using his harness, just a neck collar, so are limiting
outings to quiet, sedate spots where no skateboarders or other dogs might
get him too wound up and cause pulling.
In the meantime, he's looking good, feeling fine. No infection, no problems.
Whew...

Surgery Done

July 17, 2002 - 9 pm
Tonight Tiberius is resting, completely flaked out, after having his eye surgery today.

The operation went off without any problems and he accepted the anastethics
well, they tell us.

A little woozy, a little confused by the transparent e-collar he'll be wearing
for the next week, he was very tired and very happy to come home.

Meredith (his "mom"), Shirley (his "great-aunt") and I, his "gran", are all
relieved. He's already discovered that he can eat from his bowl while wearing
the collar, but is not too interested in too much else but rest.

He should be a little more lively tomorrow.

Meredith and I want to thank those who sent kind greetings, encouraging words
and good wishes
to our little big guy Tiberius.

His eyes definitely look smaller and also slightly swollen. It'll take a day or
'til we really see how much, or how little, his looks have changed.

The main thing is he's OK and has better protection for eyes now.

Thanks once again for caring about our dear pug dog.

*

Eye Surgery Scheduled for Ty

July 11, 2002

Tiberius is having major eye surgery in mid-July.
He will be undergoing a 2 1/2-hour procedure called canthoplasty
to correct the width of the openings on both his eyes.

He's got three common pug eye problems:

entropion

pimentary keratitis

distichiasis

Ty's eye
   Entropion : The rolling inward of the eyelid.
For Ty this is occurring at the inner corners of both eyes.

  Pigmentary Keratitis : The formation of dark spots on the surface of the eye.
Unchecked this leads to complete coverage of the eye resulting in blindness.
It is a progressive disease and the surgery cannot erase or halt it;
it will slow it down considerably.
Tiberius is 4 years old now and the PK is creeping across both his eyes
again from the inner corner.
We want to catch it now while his vision is still pretty normal.

  Distichiasis : Hairs growing inside the eyelid which touch the eye.
Ty has several of these. Their removal will take away another source of irritation.

Ty's problems were diagnosed by veterinary opthamologist Dr. David Tinsley in Ottawa
and confirmed by Dr. Leonard Goldstien in Toronto in June.
(Thanks to Dawn Hunter for recommending him.)

Dr. Tinsley is performing the surgery at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital in Ottawa.

Though Ty might do well with a different, less complex procedure, Meredith and I
hope the fuller surgery will give Tiberius the best vision, for the longest time.

Please keep Tiberius in your thoughts around the 17th.
Other than his neutering, this is his (and our) biggest medical encounter.
We are scared but keeping faith that he will do fine and come through it all right.

The recovery will involve his wearing an Elizabethan collar for about a week and a half
and you know that's not going to be very popular with him.

Meredith is taking a full week off work to come home from Toronto to
be with Tiberius through this.
He is her "baby", my "grand-puppy" and we are all keeping our paws crossed right now.

Susan

Not a pug - a mastiff

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