This three month old cross-bred puppy is presented with eyes that seem, according to the owner, to have been irritating the dog almost from day one. What is the cause and how would you treat it?
There is a forest of aberrant hairs arising from the Meibomian gland orifices all along the eyelid edge – distichiasis. Too many to perform electrolysis on, the other options are to exise the hair follicles by sharp knife surgery along the inner eyelid or, as is seen here use cryotherapy. Two rapid freeze slow thaw cycles, aided by the use of the chlazion clamp here, kills the hair follicle which is more sensitive to cold than the surounding eyelid tissue. Potential side effects are post-operative inflamation and swelling which should be treated prophylactically with systemic anti-inflammatories, and possible hair depigmentation if the probe is applied too enthusiastically.