Scar on the Eye
Topic: Other Medical IssuesWednesday, July 28, 2010I have bought a horse with an eye injury. He is 3 and they tell me he has had this since he was a weanling. He can see but he does have a white spot about the size of the end of a pen. Is there anything that can be done at this point to clear the spot away? Is there such a thing as laser treatments?? He is a handsome fellow and it would be worth it to spend the money if the options where there.
Provided By: Melissa McKee DVM
Wednesday, July 28, 2010A healthy cornea is composed of collagen fibrils that are all aligned in a very particular way so light can pass through them and into the eye. When the cornea is scratched or has an ulcer, it unfortunately fills in the defect with “cheap stuff”-still collagen but the fibrils are now scrambled up- creating a white dot of scar tissue. Lasers are used for “phacoemulsification” of cataracts but those occur in the lens, which is a completely different structure and opacity there truly does impair vision quite seriously. Although unsightly, small corneal scars do not seriously impair a horse’s vision. Until we can convince the cornea to realign the collagen in those spots, there is little that can be done to reduce the blemish. The good news is that these often will diminish in size and opacity over time, so as your guy ages the spot may become less noticeable.