Info about PK?

Have we had previous threads about PK? The vet gave Bruno a checkup this morning and said he is blind in his right eye from PK and the left eye is over 50% grown over. Bruno's last vet exam was a year and a half ago and they didn't note any eye problems then so this has been pretty aggressive. He's referring us to an opthamologist with the hope of trying to arrest the problem in his left eye, but the vet says it's pretty far along in his left eye.

Any experiences to share? Bruno will be 10 in February.

Kendie : I don't know or I'm to tired to know but I'll be watching for replies as we're in the same boat. Drago came to us with a damaged eye and we knew it would likely be the first to cause a problem. Last year there was nothing notable found at his exam but I noticed a spot last night that wasn't there before. ugh.. one more thing.

http://www.pugauthority.com/t2949-stella-has-pk

Blanche posted some great info when I first found out Stella had it. Stella has been on the Tacro ointment since it was first diagnosed and it hasn't progressed. Give the old man a smooch for me.

Thanks so much for the link, Katie! I knew we must have discussed this at some point but I'm terrible at searching this forum. My vet put Bruno on the Cyclosporine ointment twice a day for now, but I'm going to ask him about the Tacrolimus too. Glad to hear that it hasn't progressed in Stella.

Izzy has been on Tacrolimus drops for around 4 years. Hers is still progressing but at a very slow rate.

No comments on the PK medications, but I wanted to suggest that, since his sight is compromised already, you might want to start teaching him voice prompts for curbs, steps and other obstacles, just in case it progresses to where he has less sight than now.

I had a dog who went blind (gradually) and during the time her sight was fading we did the voice commands. By the time she was blind, she was very used to "step up", "step down", "go around" and things like that.

If Bruno's sight holds as is and you never need to use the prompts, wonderful! But it won't hurt to have him know them should they ever be necessary.

Given that my Otto is now losing much of his mobility, I'll say it was much easier dealing with a blind dog who could move well than a sighted dog who needs lots of help to get around. Good luck.

I would definitely see about finding a veterinary opthamologist for an exam and also getting the tacrolimus. I have 4 out of 6 pugs here who are on it at least once per day & it really does help to slow the progression. I also wanted to mention that one of the opthamologists at Eye Care for Animals here in Illinois is doing a trial procedure to try to remove/reverse PK and there is also a specialist from U of I who contacted us a couple of months ago about a study that she is doing as well and she will most likely be at Milwaukee Pugfest doing eye exams next May as part of her research (she is also a pug owner and PDCA member). I just hope that between the two of them, somebody can come up with some sort of resolution to this problem!



http://www.eyecareforanimals.com/locations/california.html

Stewie came to me with Pk ( well basically blind in one eye) but my vet did not recommend to use anything. I thought he would get on fine without being able to see out of it but to this day he still wacks into doors, Viv and me all the time.

Donna wrote:Stewie came to me with Pk ( well basically blind in one eye) but my vet did not recommend to use anything. I thought he would get on fine without being able to see out of it but to this day he still wacks into doors, Viv and me all the time.

Are you using Genteal gel? Penny gets it at least three times a day, and I sing the praises of Tacrolimus for PK. Penny's is slowly getting worse, but it she hadn't been on it for the past five years, she would be totally blind by now.

Edgar has PK, he came to me with it at the age of 3 months. The eye doctor said he was the youngest PK case she'd seen. He's on Tac 2 times a day and at his last visit, she was pretty impressed at the progress he was making. He's also on Genteal ointment 1 time a day.

Pugsaunt wrote:

Donna wrote:Stewie came to me with Pk ( well basically blind in one eye) but my vet did not recommend to use anything. I thought he would get on fine without being able to see out of it but to this day he still wacks into doors, Viv and me all the time.

Are you using Genteal gel? Penny gets it at least three times a day, and I sing the praises of Tacrolimus for PK. Penny's is slowly getting worse, but it she hadn't been on it for the past five years, she would be totally blind by now.

He came with Cyclosporine drops but my vet didn't say to continue using them. He has to go in soon for a quick heckup and nails, I'll talk to them more about this.

Donna, Bruno's PK is pretty advanced too and my vet said he'll need drops the rest of his life. We decided we're going to try the Cyclosporine drops for 6 weeks (since we already have the meds). We got a referral to a great eye specialist that is used by our local rescue so we'll make an appt. to see her in 6 weeks and decide if the Cyclosporine is doing anything or if we should switch to Tacrolimus.

smoochieface wrote:Donna, Bruno's PK is pretty advanced too and my vet said he'll need drops the rest of his life. We decided we're going to try the Cyclosporine drops for 6 weeks (since we already have the meds). We got a referral to a great eye specialist that is used by our local rescue so we'll make an appt. to see her in 6 weeks and decide if the Cyclosporine is doing anything or if we should switch to Tacrolimus.

There is a vet that specializes in eyes who comes up from Washington once a month, I hate the vets office he goes to but he was great when I brought Rupert to see him for an eye issue, if I don't get an approbate answer from my new vet I'll make an apt with him to see if there is something I can do. I just assumed since he is pretty much blind in his left eye that there was nothing I could do for him.