Page 184 - Manual of Equine Field Surgery
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180 OPHTHALMIC SURGERIES
only a portion of the palpebral fissure may be cornea. Either situation predisposes the patient to
closed to cover a localized lesion. In either case, corneal ulceration, and such sutures should be
the sutures are temporary. removed or replaced immediately, As noted for
postoperative care, the palpebral fissure may
begin to "gap" as early as 7 days postoperatively;
POSTOPERATIVE CARE tarsorrhaphies that are "gapped" should be
removed or replaced to prevent ulceration.
Postoperativefare -,~
·
Protedion and Cleaning: The eye should be REFERENCES
covered with a protective eye cup to prevent
rubbing. The cup should be cleaned daily, and the 1. Miller TR: Principles of therapeutics, Vet Clin N Am
ta.rsorrhaphy should be inspected for· potential Equine 8:479, 1992.
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Suture Removal: The palpebral fissure will lamellar keratoplasty for treatment of deep stromal
begin to "gap" open to expose the sutures, usually abscesses in nine horses, Vet Ophthalmol 3:99, 2000.
in 7 to l O days. This exposed suture may rub the 3. Brooks DE: Equine ophthalmology. In Gelatt KN,
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thalmology, !11 Slatter D, editor: Pundamentals of
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WB Saunders.
COMPLICATIONS 5. Millicham.p NJ: Ocular trauma, Vet Clin N Am
Equine 8:521, 1992.
6. Samuelson D: Ophthalmic anatomy, In Gelatt KN,
If the mattress sutures are placed too shallow editor: Veterinary ophthalmology, ed 3, Philadelphia,
within the eyelid or exit too far anterior to the 1999, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
meibomian glands, the inverting nature of the 7. Slatter D: Principles of ophthalmic st1rgery. In Slatter
suture pattern may cause the eyelid margins to D, editor: Fundamentals of veterinary ophthalmology,
•
rub the cornea (i.e., entropion). If the sutures are ed 3, Philadelphia, 2001, WB Saunders.
placed too deep ( e.g., through the conjunctival 8. Miller TR: Eyelids. In Auer J, Stick J, editors: Eq·uine
surface), the suture material may contact the sitrgery, ed 2, Philadelphia, 1999, WB Saunders.