79. 13-year-old Shih Tzu with black corneas

I was surprised that the Shih Tzu recovered fully from having pus leaking out from his almost 100$% pigmented cornea in his right eye. This meant he was blind in the right eye.


He was 13 years old and was with the young man since he was 6 years of age. I did a 3rd eyelid flap under general anaesthesia to close up his eye ulcer and also removed all his rotten teeth. He was very thin. Surprisingly he survived the anaesthesia. That was 6 months ago. He looked and behaved as young as a 8-year-old dog. "He recovered completely," the young man said. "Just a white spot in the centre of his right eye. What's his problem?

6 months later, he had tearing in his right eye. Lots of tears and red sclera and conjunctiva. The eye was infected. He was rubbing his right eye. A white blob of tissue has protruded from the central ulcer. An eye infection. It could be from the inside of the eyeball. Antibiotics and eye drops are given.

P.S
1. Check your Shih Tzu'e eyes daily. Don't let the black or brown pigments grow till they cover the cornea 100% as the dog will not be able to see. Pigmentation is usually due to corneal irritation over several years. Singapore owners don't know that the hairs in the nasal fold grows and irritate the eyeball, causing pigmentation in some Shih Tzus and ultimately blindness. How would you feel if you can' see because your cornea is painted black? Prevention is better. Get your vet to snip off the nasal fold and no hairs will grow towards and irriate the cornea.