“In many cases the IOP measurement shows that it is actually uveitis.” USER CASE the day before, but it had not been able to see out of the other eye for some time. It is rare for both eyes to develop high IOP at the same time. If the problem had been noticed, we might have been able to preserve the sight in the good eye for longer. In some cases, we can prevent blindness occurring if an early diagnosis is made, but it is a great shame that, with animals, it is often too late. Taking IOP measurements every time an animal has its inoculations is very helpful for the early diagnosis of glaucoma. Are there any particular illnesses or symptoms where you would measure IOP? If the eyeball is protruding, we measure IOP to determine whether it this is due to glaucoma or an orbital lesion, and if the size of the pupil causes concern, we also take a measure- ment to determine whether it this is due to a neurological illness. In many cases the IOP measurement shows that it is actually uveitis. When we prescribe eye drops for glaucoma, it is important to measure IOP to check that the eye drops are working. After cataract operations, we measure IOP to determine the extent of inflammation in the eye or the condition of the sutures. In this case, the eyelids cannot open much, because they are sewn up to protect the suture on the eyeball. Similarly, in cases where the eyeball is damaged, such as corneal erosion or corneal ulcers, these are very painful and it is difficult to open the eyelids and hold the animal still. With TONOVET, you can measure IOP even in cases where the eyelids cannot open properly, because of the small area that comes into contact with the cornea. With shiba inu, it is difficult to open the eyelids, because they have sunken eyes. We used to have to check their IOP by touch through the eyelids, because it was impossible to measure with the earlier tonometers, but we have seen a lot of cases where IOP measurement with TONOVET showed that they had quite high IOP. I have realised how unreliable my own manual examina- tions were. There may have been a lot of cases that I missed. What kind of treatment do you use if you diagnose glaucoma early? It depends on the situation, but we usually lower the IOP with eye drops, drips, or oral medication. If there is no improvement using eye drops, or if the animal will not take oral medication, we either carry out a cyclophotocoagulation operation using a laser diode, or insert a glaucoma valve. What are your thoughts on animals’ sense of sight? I think sight is a very important sense for animals, too. It is often said that animals do not rely on sight as much as humans, but I have seen many animals whose eyes I have ex- amined and who have gone blind. Animals’ lives, too, change the day they lose their sight. At meal times, they head in the direction from where they smell food, but once they get close, they have to start looking around for it. Similarly, they can no longer go to the toilet in the right place. However, other than sight, dogs and cats have much keener senses than humans, so if they gradually lose their sight, or if several months have passed since this loss of sight, they can become reasonably adept at getting around specific places, if they use their other senses to the full, and adapt. However, I believe that they largely depend on sight to recognise objects close to them. Holding the animal without causing it stress is key to the examination. “In my opinion, since we started using TONOVET, owners are more likely to come back to the clinic, and are happier to let their animal have an IOP test because the animals do not mind it and it is quick.” 15
