Very poorly Shar-pei with Entropian

[eyeshade]

My rescued little bundle of Shar-pei was rushed to vets Friday and Monday with this awful disease where the eyelids roll into themselves, causing ulcers on the cornea, he had a bout of it in February this year and the vet did some cosmetic surgery on him which would alleviate some of the discomfort and removed the ulcers but it came back with a vengeance over the weekend and he was very poorly indeed. The (referred) vet had to cut out skin over and above both his eyes so you can imagine he is not a well pup and looks even worse!. It's so sad to see him like this and I believe not just shar-Ps get it, other breeds do as well and it is nasty and extremely costly, for two days Vets visits nearly �2000!! We will pay whatever it takes and he is insured but it is also the suffering he is to go through for the sake of the breed. Luckily he is a Chinese Shar-pei as opposed to the very wrinkly American SP, it must be worse for them (interbreeding at its worse!). Has anyone else had this with their own breed, I would be interested to know.

[Noweia]

It's a common enough condition in lambs, especially Texel cross or purebred lambs, as anyone who has done any amount of lambing with this breed can tell you!

Not sure about the efficacy of different treatment in dogs, but in lambs we either roll the eyelids out until they stay that way, or in more advanced cases soluble saline solution is injected inside the lower eyelids to make the eyelids turn out the right way, and stay out. Other more advanced treatments aren't used on sheep because they aren't worth the cost of the treatment and as such will be put down on welfare grounds.

The following site gives a brief overview of the condition in dogs:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/entropion-in-dogs /page1.aspx

[lankeela]

Reputable breeders would not breed from stock that suffers from this condition. This is why people should only by registered dogs from breeders recommended by a breed club, or by word of mouth from owners or breeders, rather than out of the local free ads, or even from 'a bloke down the pub'.

Stories like this get all pedigree dog breeders tarred with the same brush, its like people who buy 'cheap' German Shepherds then blame all breeders because their dog gets hip displasia, or deaf dalmatians, or blind collies.
Some of us spend hundred of pounds doing all the necessary health checks, and funding research into hereditary conditions only to be slagged off by people who get substandard stock in the first place. Rant over.

[lankeela]

Sorry, got carried away and didn't answer the actual question. Rottweilers suffer from entropion, as do chow chows, and many other breeds. Google it and you will find lots of articles (check spelling).

[eyeshade]

Noweia, interesting you mention soluble saline solution to make the eyelids turn out although as you suggest the life of the sheep is not that of a dog so may not be long term effictive. However, if this latest op is not the answer, then it would be worth enquiring. Lankeela's information is the usual really, rant before thinking and yes L I don't like the breeders who go overboard to enduse more wrinkles or more bulging eyes etc.so the animal can't breathe or see, why? the only answer is money.

[Noweia]

Hi eyeshade,

Injection of saline is really only a short term solution as the fliud will be absorbed from the injection site over a very short period of time. In many lambs this is sufficient for the eyelids to remain in their proper position, but I don't think it would work long term for your shar-pei. Worth enquiring about though!

As I mentioned before, I'm not too familiar with entropion in dogs - but it may only affect puppies, and they grow out of it when they grow into their skin - also worth asking about!

[eyeshade]

He goes back to Vet's tomorrow for an examination so will have check things out with her, she said that what we have had done now is not necessarily the end, sometimes they have to radical "facelift" surgery! I only hope that isn't the case as he is the most hansome beast and he doesn't deserve all these problems. I suppose someone must have put him in a rescue home for a reason, maybe this is it. Who knows, thanks for your advise, I know that labs, and spaniels can sometimes get it, I just wondered if anyone had been given a more permanent solution to the problem. Thanks Noweia

[mojobanana]

Hi there,

I've got a shar pei too! She's 6 months old and no problems, but her breeder's bitch did have entropion. They took her to a specialist shar pei vet in chesterfield who stitched the eyelids. I don't think it was as bad a case as you have. I thought entropion was usually cured first-time round...Suppose not.

The only other thing I've seen in young pups (12 to 16 weeks) in books is tacking, where one stitch holds the eyelid. I'm not sure if this is a temporary measure until the pup is older and some of the wrinkles have been grown into and they can permanently stitch the eyelid.

I always imagined the surgery would remove a strip of the eyelid, much like an eyelift in humans, then stitch it close.

Sorry for the long rambling answer, but I've tried to read as much about the breed as is humanly possible since before we got little Esme and I keep a close eye on her eyes, so to speak.

Hope all is well with yours
Jo

[lankeela]

Entropion is considered to be hereditary in most breeds that are affected, so they should not be bred from unless you are certain it is a secondary condition.

[eyeshade]

Well, 3 more visits to the vet later and he had to have further surgery i.e. they removed some lower eyelide which made the left eye droop slightly but nothing bad and that is much better - the worst things is, now the other one is not closing properly and this looks inflamed inside, I fear the stiches are either rubbing or he has yet another ulcer on his cornear, in which case I wonder why this eye wasn't done with the other one, during the second operation, it would make now three ops for him in 3 weeks, he is very unhappy, unsettled and keeps thinking we are going to leave him, which we do have to sometimes so he constantly has a buster collar on (which he loathes and so do I), cost is �3000 so far. Vet is now on holiday so just don't know what to do with him, I hate him being in discomfort.