Many parents of pets may have experienced, or seen, the phenomenon of sarcoma growing out of the corner of the pet's eye, which we call third eyelid hyperplasia in medicine, and the sarcoma that grows is usually also called "cherry eye".
Once the pet has a third eyelid hyperplasia, it will be very uncomfortable, and it will also affect the appearance of the image, so it is necessary for the treatment of such diseases, so how to diagnose and treat it? Xiaomei will introduce it to you in detail here.
Pet hyperplasia of the third eyelid
<h1>What is a pet's third eyelid? </h1>
The third eyelid, also known as the transient membrane, is a removable protective structure that is located between the cornea and the lower eyelid near the side of the nose, covering the conjunctiva to protect the cornea and remove foreign bodies, and to prevent excessive dryness of the eye.
For most dogs and cats, there will be pigmentation at the edge of the third eyelid, and when the pigment is deficient, it will show a red appearance, which is easy to cause conjunctival hyperplasia, and it is also more susceptible to stimulation by sunlight.
The third eyelid gland is present at the base of T-type cartilage (T-cartilage is the bone of the third eyelid), which is an important part of the production of tear fluid, and the removal of the third eyelid gland due to disease will leave pets with sequelae of dry eye disease.
Common third eyelid diseases include: third eyelid protrusion (transient membrane protrusion), third eyelid gland hyperplasia (cherry eye), third eyelid cartilage curl, tumor (less common).
Schematic diagram of the third eyelid of an animal
<h1>The cause of disease in the third eyelid of pets</h1>
Above we mentioned three types of third eyelid disease in pets, and the following is an analysis of them one by one:
Cause of the third eyelid protrusion (transient membrane herniation).
1, congenital genetics, many types of dogs (such as pugs, chihuahuas, etc.), the eyeball is very large, while having too large upper and lower eyelids, this situation can be inherited to offspring, because of this special eye structure, the third eyelid is exposed, the risk of damage is relatively large;
2. The systemic autonomic nerve is abnormal, so that the sympathetic nervous tension disappears, which occurs mostly in a group of eye symptoms such as Horner's syndrome (damage to the sympathetic ganglia of the animal neck), which will cause a third eyelid herniation;
3. Corneal ulcers and other eye diseases or trauma can also cause the third eyelid protrusion.
The above three points are mainly for dogs, in addition to the above three cases, cats also have the following causes:
1. The cat will have a lack of energy due to an underlying disease (invisible on the outside);
2. Gastrointestinal diseases such as straining due to parasitic infections in cats can also cause the third eyelid to protrude.
The cat protrudes from the third eyelid
Cause of third eyelid gland hyperplasia (cherry eye).
This condition is the third eyelid gland protruding from behind the third eyelid, clinically dogs suffer from this disease more (but Maine cats are prone to this disease), the main causes are the following two points:
1. Pets are born with a lack of connective tissue that maintains the position of the gland, which is more common in hereditary pit bulldogs, beagles, pugs and cocker spaniels;
2. External causes cause injuries to the eyeball and third eyelid, which is prone to this disease.
Bulldog hyperplasia of the third eyelid gland
Causes of curly cartilage of the third eyelid
The cause of this condition is mainly due to the deformation of T-shaped cartilage in the third eyelid, and the main causes are the following two points:
1. Genetically caused, this situation is more common in puppies and hounds of large and medium-sized dogs;
2. Caused by external injury, most of them are secondary to injury to the third eyelid.
The cartilage of the pet's third eyelid is valgus
Causes of tumors
It is usually related to the detachment of the third eyelid gland, which occurs more often in elderly dogs and cats, and common tumors are adenocarcinoma, melanoma, plasmacytic carcinoma and lymphosarcoma.
Eye tumors in dogs
<h1>Treatment of third eyelid-related conditions in pets</h1>
There are two common treatment methods for the above several diseases related to the third eyelid:
1. Surgical resection;
2. The probiotic organism is buried in it surgically and then sutured.
For the treatment of third eyelid gland hyperplasia, it is not recommended under normal circumstances to remove it, because as we mentioned above, the third eyelid gland can secrete tear fluid, and if it is removed hastily, pets are prone to dry eye disease, unless it is diagnosed as a tumor or cannot be buried deeply.
Note: Post-operative care is important. Whether it is after excision or deep burial surgery, it is necessary to wear an Elizabeth ring for the pet, and always pay attention to the pet's condition to prevent it from scratching; in addition, it is necessary to give it regular drops of eye drops containing chloramphenicol.
Embedding surgery for third eyelid gland hyperplasia
Xiaomei's message:
Non-tumor or major damage to the third eyelid related diseases, Xiaomei's suggestion is that you can drop some eye drops first, do not have to rush surgical removal or embedding, because it may be just ordinary eye inflammation caused by hyperplasia, through eye drops, generally a few days can be eliminated, if it is a more serious situation, it is recommended to directly remove to prevent more secondary diseases. After surgery, it is necessary to pay attention to nursing to prevent pet scratching and external germ infection.
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