Uveal Melanoma Tumor in Eye
Ripley has had a lot of allergies from the beginning. Food, environment and bee stings. Her eyes tear up and stain during particularly bad pollen seasons (that’s a lot of the time!). But we noticed in the early months of 2020 it seemed to be one eye more than the other.
Our regular vet was on maternity leave during this time, so we took Ripley to see her father, whom I’ve taken my animals to for years. He said it was her allergies and gave me some drops for her eyes. This seemed to help a bit at first but after completing the medication, the tearing started coming back. I took her in again and ask him to check her eye. He didn’t see anything unusual and gave me an ophthalmic antibiotic ointment to put in the eye. That was unpleasant for Ripley and me!
This tearing was not an allergy, but a tumor in her left eye
The same thing happened, the tearing didn’t really go away this time and he said, “Well, you could take her to an ophthalmologist and have them look at it,” he said this as if it’s an option if I want to spend my money on their “expensive equipment” as he put it, but he thinks it’s her allergies.
Our regular vet returned about this time and as soon as she saw her eye she sent us to Animal Eye Guy immediately. Ripley was diagnosed with pigmented uveal mass in the left eye. You can see in this photo that her left eye appears darker.
Unfortunately, the tumor was already wrapped around her iris 12:00 to 6:00 and would only get worse, so we had no choice but to have her eye removed. This was understandably devastating news. Here’s a snippet of the assessment:
“These tumors typically arise from the pigmented portion of the eye called the ciliary body and are commonly benign tumors, however in some cases these can be malignant tumors. These tumors generally have a low metastatic potential and are often slow growing, especially in older dogs. Regardless if it benign this mass has the potential to cause glaucoma (high pressure inside the eye) as it enlarges and blocks the normal flow of fluid out of the eye or uveitis (inflammation inside the eye).”
Our research told us that this Uveal tumor, “melanocytoma,” is typically reserved for benign melanocytic tumors and may be a more appropriate term when referring to canine uveal melanomas. Here’s more information: Uveal Melanoma
We continued for a few weeks with multiple eye drops for the inflammation, but ultimately proceeded with the surgery. Animal Eye Guy did a great job with follow ups and rechecks. As for Ripley, it seemed the most disturbing thing was the cone on her head when she came home!
If your dog has excessive tearing in one eye, don’t assume it is their allergies. Have it checked out immediately by a specialist.
Right before surgery
Ripley after surgery