VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY.

South Texas Veterinary Ophthalmology staff members gathered to see the unique patients: a long-tailed macaque monkey and a ring-tailed lemur. Clad in scrubs of different hues, the intrigued staff members surrounded Dr. Andrew Greller as he examined Igor the monkey and Baraka, the lemur. The pair are residents of Primarily Primates, a sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals located in far West Bexar County. At the reserve, Igor kept bumping into things and sweeping his hands in front of him, as if he couldn’t see. A scattered row of warts, like erasers atop pencils, hung under his brow, possibly the source of the problem. For Baraka, the problem was a grape-sized growth jutting from the side of his left eye. After the 25-year-old macaque’s regular veterinarian, Dr. Valerie Kirk, sedated him at the veterinary opthalmologists’ office, Greller leaned over the mammal known in science terms as Macaca Fascicularis and snipped away the warts that caused the macaque’s eyes to droop. After using an indirect ophthalmoscope headset to look in the retina, Greller said Igor’s retina looked normal and the lack of sight could be a neurological issue. Most dogs that come to the office have advanced eye disease. The biggest challenge is having a comprehensive knowledge base on all of the different species presented, especially since they can’t tell me about their eye problems,” Greller said. The most challenging case to date came two years ago when he removed a porcupine quill from the back part of an English springer spaniel’s eye. He had to surgically cut eye muscles to remove the quill, but the dog still maintained a bit of vision after the operation. The obvious signs of eye problems are squinting, which can be a sign of pain; a bloodshot eye; or a foggy, blue eye. Greller‘s fascination with ophthalmology can be traced back to third grade. An ophthalmologist helped him when a classmate threw glitter into his eye. The specialist numbed his eye to take out the tiny bits to prevent permanent damage. Greller was marveling at his latest patient, lying on pads and folded towels. It was the first lemur he had ever treated. Under an intense beam of overhead light, Greller shaved fur from around the sedated lemur’s open, orange eyes with battery-operated clippers. “It’s a very cool retina,” he said, before cutting away the bulbous mass on the side of Baraka’s eye. Kirk sent the lid tumor off for analysis. “I’m pretty confident we got all of it,” Greller said. “It’s most likely a benign tumor.” source; NZ herald