Emergency of the Week – Kiwi

Little Kiwi visited Mountainside after being attacked by a large dog. Upon examination, she was noted to have two significant wounds – one on her neck and the other very close to her right eye. With one of her wounds being so near to her eye, her eye reflexes were tested with a special tool called ophthalmoscope, to ensure there was no damage to the surrounding nerves and muscles.

An ophthalmoscope has a light with multiple tiny lenses that allows the veterinarian to view the majority of the eyeball, which can help determine if there are any scratches to the surface of the eye (corneal ulcers) or if there is any internal damage. Kiwi’s eye was found to have a mild sub-scleral hemorrhage (a tiny broken blood vessel) but luckily had no damage to her vision or function of her eye.

Kiwi was then sedated to facilitate surgical repair of her wounds. Both wound areas were shaved, cleaned, and rinsed with a sterile solution. Her eyes were lubricated with a special gel to prevent any potential particles getting into her eyes while the area was being sutured nearby. The wound near her eye was sutured using a dissolvable suture material. Once both wounds were sutured closed, Kiwi stayed in the hospital for the rest of the day to recover from her sedation. She went home with antibiotics and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relief medication.

Two weeks later, Kiwi returned to have her sutures removed. Since her injury, Kiwi’s owners report that her eye has healed well and she is back to her happy little self!