A leading Swindon animal hospital has invested in a new state-of-the-art piece of equipment to treat pets with eye problems while they are awake, avoiding the need for anaesthesia.
Linnaeus-owned Eastcott Veterinary Referrals has already used its innovative corneal cross-linking machine to successfully treat a much-loved Boxer and a French Bulldog.
The other major benefit of the cross-linking machine is that it is painless for the patients. The equipment works by emitting specific UV light waves which, when combined with a solution of Vitamin B2, strengthen and reduce infection on the surface of the eye (the cornea).
Fiona Strange, advanced practitioner in ophthalmology at Eastcott Veterinary Referrals, said: “Banjo, a nine-year-old Boxer, and Stormi, a three-year-old French Bulldog, were among the first patients who benefited from our new cross-linking machine.
“Banjo was diagnosed with a large infected corneal ulcer, which is a defect in the surface of the eye.
“He is an older boy with a heart murmur so we didn’t want to administer an anaesthetic to treat this.
“He was a good boy and sat very still while he underwent the treatment and stayed with us over the weekend so our nurses could help apply eye drops regularly. His eye ulcer had completely healed after five days.
“Banjo also benefitted from our cardiology department while he was at Eastcott as they were able to confirm that his heart murmur was ‘innocent’ and wouldn’t cause him any trouble in the future, more good news for this boy.”
Stormi’s corneal defect was so deep that it also required surgery, but the cross-linking treatment strengthened it before undergoing a graft procedure.
Fiona added: “Eastcott has always been proud of providing the highest level of service to our patients and the arrival of the cross-linking machine is further evidence of this.”
Eastcott Veterinary Referrals offers expert care in cardiology, dentistry, internal medicine, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, diagnostic imaging and CT, anaesthesia and analgesia and has its own emergency care centre.
For more information about Eastcott Referrals, which is part of Linnaeus, visit www.eastcottreferrals.co.uk.