Cataract (Latin name — cataracta) is a pathological process that is accompanied by clouding of the lens of the eye in an animal. All types of animals are susceptible to the disease. Cataracts are diagnosed more often in domestic animals - dogs and cats. This is due to the fact that the process is most often registered in old animals.

Etiology

The causes of cataracts can be hereditary, genetically determined. In this case, the animal may already be born with a pathology that appears in the next 2-3 months.

An eye injury can also be the cause of clouding and contributes to the rapid course of the process. The course is both independent and complicated by accompanying inflammatory processes.

The cause of the pathology can be diabetes or other disorders in the work of the endocrine system. At the same time, the process develops quickly, and the use of hypoglycemic therapy is not a means of treating or slowing down the opacification of the lens.

Age-related cataracts form gradually and, as a rule, after the age of 8 years of the animal's life. Statistics show that large dogs are less prone to cataracts than small breeds in old age. Most often, the disease occurs in cocker spaniels, retrievers, Yorkshire terriers, dwarf poodles.

According to the location of the cataract, it is customary to divide it into anterior polar and posterior polar, cortical, capsular, and nuclear. The intensity of turbidity depends on the place of turbidity and the degree of development of the process.

The turbidity itself occurs as a result of a violation of the trophism of the lens. Protein autolysis and an increase in osmotic pressure contribute to the transition of cleavage products into the intraocular fluid. Tissue compaction occurs due to a decrease in the amount of water in the body of the lens.

Symptoms

During the initial, non-instrumental, examination, a slight clouding of the lens can be noticed. At first, the color can be light gray, then dark gray and milky white. The veil may not be continuous, but only cover some area. The situation may change and the turbidity will disappear, but the process itself is irreversible and the turbidity will return soon.

Against the background of turbidity, you can clearly distinguish spots, stripes, stars, and light haziness.

Clouding of the lens can develop both in both eyes and in one. The intensity of the processes in different eyes can also be different.

If the clouding first starts from the peripheral areas of the eye, then the process is slower. The course of the disease is faster than the initial central localization.

Clouding of the lens in younger animals is much faster than in old ones.

Turbidity passes especially quickly (1-2 months) in endocrine diseases. At the same time, both eyes are involved in the process, and the loss of vision proceeds at a rapid pace.

Not all cataracts are accompanied by complete vision loss. As a rule, if the periphery is occupied by clouding, then vision is not impaired, but the central part is more important.

Diagnosis

During the examination of the eye by passing light and side lighting, the veterinary ophthalmologist effortlessly determines the intensity of clouding, its size, area of ​​distribution, and stage of development.

The prognosis for the development of the disease can be established only after the examination.

Treatment

To date, there are no drugs that could stop or slow down the opacification of the lens.

The treatment is surgical, and it is used when the animal is at risk of complete vision loss. In the event that one eye is already blind and the cataract is progressing in the other, but the dog is active, surgical intervention may also be relevant.

Lens replacement is performed in a specialized clinic using the phacoemulsification method, but only in the early stages of the disease. The essence of this operation is crushing the lens with ultrasound. In the process, an emulsion is formed, which is sucked out through a small hole. A soft ball is inserted into the place of the elongated lens, which in the cavity acquires an anatomically correct position and performs the role of the removed one.

Full functioning is restored after 7-12 days. The operation goes without complications.

If the lesion of the lens began a long time ago and its tissues are strongly compacted, then the phacoemulsification method cannot be used. In this case, surgical intervention is performed by making an incision, and through it the cloudy lens is removed, and a new one is inserted in its place.

Only an ophthalmologist determines which method of implantation to choose.

Prevention

When forming a herd or selecting a partner for small animals, the hereditary factor must be taken into account.

A regular clinical examination of the animal with an examination of all organs and systems makes it possible to timely detect the process that is beginning, both clouding of the lens and disruption of the endocrine system.

Analysis of the topic of 2025.