What you need to know about cherry eye among dogs in Uganda

Is your dog having a red pea-shaped swelling protruding from its eye? What could that be? It’s likely to be the nictitans gland and third eyelid.

A case of cherry eye in a dog from Mityana, Uganda.

Nabanjje, a female dog from Mityana (Kasenge), was brought to the clinic (superior animal clinic) by Mr. Timothy Kigozi on 15/09/2024 to get veterinary care on its left eye that had a red tissue out.

Patient details

Name; Nabanjje	Age: above a year	Breed: Mongrel
Sex: Female	Weight: 17.8kg	Color: tan

Clinical findings

Temperature 40.2C, heart rate 130 bpm, respiratory rate 30 bpm, BCS 2.5/5, many fleas, swollen lymph nodes, cherry eye, and alopecic skin patches.

Nabanjje received the following treatment: Simparica, bathing using medicated shampoo, anti-inflammatory drugs, eye drops, surgery to correct the prolapse, deworming, and an Elizabethan collar.

Nabanjje recovered, and she lives a happy life.

What is a cherry eye?

It is the protrusion of the third eyelid.

Is cherry eye common among dogs in Uganda?

Cherry eye is not common among dogs in Uganda.

In seven years of practice as a small animal veterinarian in Kampala, I have seen only three cases of cherry eye.

Is cherry eye curable? And how long does it take to heal?

A cherry eye is curable, and its prognosis is good.

Complete healing takes 2 weeks to one month depending on the procedure used and the extent of the damage. But recurrence is possible with some techniques.

Are there veterinarians in Uganda that treat cherry eye among dogs?

Any licensed small animal veterinarian can comfortably treat a cherry eye.

Is cherry eye painful to dogs?

Cherry eye is not painful, but it causes discomfort to the dogs.

What are the most common causes of the cherry eye among dogs in Uganda?

Trauma, genetic disorders, and foreign bodies in the eye are the common causes of cherry eye among dogs.

How much is a cherry eye treatment in Uganda?

500,000 to 1.2 million Ugandan shillings depending on the procedure used, days of hospitalization, post-operative care, size of the dog, etc.

What is the best home remedy for cherry eye among dogs?

Eye drops and massaging the gland to its normal position are the common home remedies for cherry eye, but they only provide temporary relief.

How is cherry eye treated?

The advantages and disadvantages of the different treatment methods for cherry eye are:

Tucking method: use 5-0 or 6-0 Vicryl to tie the gland to the normal position.

Advantages: it retains the normal function of the nictitans gland. It’s relatively cheaper.

Disadvantages: recurrence is possible. Not effective in large dog breeds.

Morgan’s pocket technique: two opposite parallel incisions are made in the nictitating membrane below the nictitans gland. The incisions are undermined to create pockets where the gland is pushed and stitched.

Advantages: it retains the normal function of the nictitans gland.

Disadvantages: recurrence is possible.

Excision of the nictitans gland: clamp below the nictitans gland, and cut off the nictitating membrane and gland with a hot blade to minimize bleeding.

Advantages: recurrence is impossible.

Disadvantages: predisposes to dry eye.