How Much Is Canine Cataract Surgery?
Cataract surgery costs vary depending on whether your dog needs surgery on one or both eyes. Prices range from $1,500 per eye up to as much as $4,000 per eye. Other health issues could add to the cost … and where you live also makes a difference (look out for big city prices!).
So … if you have insurance for your dog, this surgery would be a good time time to use it!
But perhaps you can avoid surgery altogether.
What Happens When a Cataract Goes Untreated?
When a dog with cataracts is left untreated, they can become blind. The cataract completely blocks light from entering the eye through the lens and keeps your dog from seeing. The condition is still treatable at that time with surgery, but without treatment, it can develop into glaucoma.
Glaucoma is a condition where there is too much pressure in the eye, which damages the optic nerve. If the nerve is damaged, your dog will be permanently blind in the eye where the nerve sustained the damage.
Itâs important to note that not all cataracts can lead to glaucoma or blindness. Sometimes, they develop only enough to cause some reduction in sight.
Glaucoma isnât the only condition that can be caused by untreated cataracts. Another is lens luxation, or a condition where the lens can float around out of place. Cataract dissolution, where the cataracts dissolve on their own, can cause deep inflammation within the eye and lead to uveitis or glaucoma.
Uveitis is an inflammatory condition within the eye that is painful for your dog and can cause blindness.
Efficacy of Natural Cataract Remedies in Dogs
It is important to note, supplementation is not an invasive surgical treatment, so instant results are unlikely and, for many, there wont be any discernible effect. They may be useful in slowing down cataract progression in the very early stages, but this is largely unproven.
There is also the option of surgery to treat cataracts. The procedure is generally extremely effective and can restore vision completely. The vet will remove the cloudy lens under general anaesthetic. Surgery brings with it the risk of scarring and inflammation but most dogs do very well. On top of that, the surgical option is not affordable to all owners.
According to the Royal Veterinary College, surgery is the only vision-restoring treatment available now for cataracts.
Medicated drops containing Lanosterol are also potentially showing some promise.
