The University Veterinary Hospital of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) at Pookode in Wayanad district has introduced cataract surgery for canines.
The Department of Veterinary Surgery recently operated on Caesar, one-year-and-a-half-old German Shepherd from Omassery in Kozhikode. Caesar thus became the first of his kind to undergo the surgery in the State, Suryadas, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at KVASU, told The Hindu.
The procedure employed was a small incision cataract surgery, also known as manual phaco. This procedure is widely used in humans too, Dr. Suryadas said.
The department has modern diagnostic apparatus such as Fundus Camera to diagnose retinal diseases and Tonopen, a digital instrument to measure intra-ocular pressure, he said.
The Madras Veterinary College (MVC) was the pioneer in this surgical procedure. The MVC had an ophthalmology unit which specialised in eye surgeries for animals. The MVC had advanced apparatus such as the Phacoemulsification machine to perform the surgery, he said.
Dr. Sooryadas did his surgery specialisation at MVC. The surgeon’s skills would be of importance in our centre as we do not have such advanced equipment, Dr. Sooryadas said.
