The vet's office called us first thing the morning after surgery. We wrote down a million questions, so I just needed to decide where to start. I questioned the instruction on compressing the eyes every several hours, how exactly to apply the eye gel, and the cone battles Stella had already begun.
The warm compress application was stressed, the warmth of the cloth would be for cleanliness and swelling, wiping away discharge and preventing infection. The instructions read, ''After compress, wipe away the scabs if necessary." This is almost laughable for any dog, let alone one who needs to be held down in order to administer drops. She was in pain and didn't want us touching what hurt. We were also unsure of what was what so we very gingerly attempted to clean her incision site. At this point we found the washcloth to be too cumbersome and used gauze pads instead. We weren't sure how wet the stitches could get so I just ran hot water, rinsed the pad and applied it to her eye for as long as she'd let me (about a minute). The discharge in the corner of her eye was obvious to wipe away but knowing what to pick, or rub at, is extremely difficult, even if you have the most angelic dog who sits perfectly still with adequate light shining in the perfect area (Our dog is not in fact the ideal patient, but I have to defend her by saying-NO ONE is EVER a fan of a bright light shining in your face, when you're in pain at 6AM). (A headlamp was key, thanks Amazon, because it keeps your hands free and you could still see what you were doing). We saw some bloody discharge but were advised that if she managed to pop a stitch, we'd know it.
The eye gel was almost impossible to apply without putting directly on your finger and touching the eye. It made for a gloppy mess that we hoped would find its way in to her eye when she blinked. I have since found that when you warm up the tube in your hands, it comes out in a better liquid form.
As far as the cone, Stella was full speed ahead. Drinking and eating were tougher, but Stella didn't let that stop her, she's a Lab. Stella sick or not, happily prances along, head bouncing side to side and then SLAM into the doorway, wall, end table. The cone also HURTS. (I didn't order the soft cone- I wanted to make sure the length was the most appropriate to help prevent her reaching her eyes)She rammed it into the back of our legs every single time she was close to us in the hallway. Paybacks a bitch Mom and Dad.
Our biggest worry with the cone was if it would in fact protect her from herself. She was batting at it and using everything to rub up against, attempting to itch her eyes. We were told this would only get worse, the better Stella felt (It didn't-she got used to it in a day and I think forgot she had it).
We thought the cone would be our biggest problem. If only.
Both of Stella's eyes, less than 24 hours after surgery.
The warm compress application was stressed, the warmth of the cloth would be for cleanliness and swelling, wiping away discharge and preventing infection. The instructions read, ''After compress, wipe away the scabs if necessary." This is almost laughable for any dog, let alone one who needs to be held down in order to administer drops. She was in pain and didn't want us touching what hurt. We were also unsure of what was what so we very gingerly attempted to clean her incision site. At this point we found the washcloth to be too cumbersome and used gauze pads instead. We weren't sure how wet the stitches could get so I just ran hot water, rinsed the pad and applied it to her eye for as long as she'd let me (about a minute). The discharge in the corner of her eye was obvious to wipe away but knowing what to pick, or rub at, is extremely difficult, even if you have the most angelic dog who sits perfectly still with adequate light shining in the perfect area (Our dog is not in fact the ideal patient, but I have to defend her by saying-NO ONE is EVER a fan of a bright light shining in your face, when you're in pain at 6AM). (A headlamp was key, thanks Amazon, because it keeps your hands free and you could still see what you were doing). We saw some bloody discharge but were advised that if she managed to pop a stitch, we'd know it.
The eye gel was almost impossible to apply without putting directly on your finger and touching the eye. It made for a gloppy mess that we hoped would find its way in to her eye when she blinked. I have since found that when you warm up the tube in your hands, it comes out in a better liquid form.
As far as the cone, Stella was full speed ahead. Drinking and eating were tougher, but Stella didn't let that stop her, she's a Lab. Stella sick or not, happily prances along, head bouncing side to side and then SLAM into the doorway, wall, end table. The cone also HURTS. (I didn't order the soft cone- I wanted to make sure the length was the most appropriate to help prevent her reaching her eyes)She rammed it into the back of our legs every single time she was close to us in the hallway. Paybacks a bitch Mom and Dad.
Our biggest worry with the cone was if it would in fact protect her from herself. She was batting at it and using everything to rub up against, attempting to itch her eyes. We were told this would only get worse, the better Stella felt (It didn't-she got used to it in a day and I think forgot she had it).
We thought the cone would be our biggest problem. If only.
Both of Stella's eyes, less than 24 hours after surgery.
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