Once a dog’s eye has developed a cataract, there is no way (that we know of) to eliminate the cataract without surgically removing it. There are some kinds of nutritional supplementation that can help prevent or limit the worsening of the cataract’s development. But to eliminate it it must be removed surgically. Hypermature cateracts can start to develop some clear spots, but of course you wouldn’t want to rely on that happening.

But just because surgery is the only total solution, that doesn’t mean that your dog needs cataract surgery. Most dogs with cataracts do not need surgery because their opacities are small enough as to not significantly interfere with their vision. Humans get cataract surgery very frequently, because we find them annoying and in a society where we have to drive cars, operate appliances, read documents, and so forth, having an opacity can be a real problem. But for a dog who just keeps you company and likes to play, an opacity doesn’t become a serious problem until it obscures his vision enough to inhibit his life. It’s important to remember that dog catarac surgery is a surgery intended to improve your dog’s quality of life, not save it’s life. So if the catarac isn’t cramping your dog’s style, then let it be.

A veterinary opthamologist will help you determine if dog catarac surgery is necessary. If your dog has severely inhibited vision, or is bound to become that way, then surgery can be a way to give your dog a new lease on life. Especially with older dogs who may also have lost their sense of hearing, being able to see can restore joy and meaning to its life.

How is the surgery carried out?

You may be familiar with the way that catarac surgery is carried out on humans, and in dogs the surgery uses the same equipment and procedures. First the veterinary opthomologist makes an incision in the eye and then a hole is made in the capsular bag holding the lense. A process called Phacoemulsification is then performed in which the cloudy lens is removed with a special probe. The lens’s capsular bag remains, but there is no longer a lens so an artificial one called an IOL (intraocular lens) is inserted into the bag. The intraocular lens can be either rigid polymer plastic or a soft foldable lens (this is determined by the veterinary opthamologist). The dog’s eye is then sealed up with tiny absorbable sutures.

Since any tiny amount of damage inside the eye can cause serious problems, the surgery is carried out under high magnification with an operating microscope. During the procedure the dog is under general anaesthesia.

How Will My Dog Be After the Procedure?

After successful surgery, your dog should be able to regain almost full normal vision. But since the replacement lens is an artificial one, perfectly natural vision is impossible to achieve. Dogs get some inflammation after the surgery, more so than in humans, which leads to some scarring. This can be limited with some anti-inflammatory drugs and oral antioxidant supplementation. Basically, the return of fully functional vision is the norm, even though some visual problems may still be present.

In some rare cases, it is impossible to insert the IOL to replace the old clouded lens. In such a case, the dog will still be able to see. But he will be more far-sighted and have less focus on near objects. Vision is still possible because the cornea does 2/3 of the eye’s focusing, while the lens does 1/3.

Be aware that the cost of dog catarac surgery is high. This is because of the special equipment and expertise of a highly trained veterinary opthamologist that are required. Even if you have pet insurance, don’t assume it covers cataract surgery because there is often a clause excluding genetic conditions, and cataracts are often a genetic condition. Look into this thoroughly before you commit to such a procedure.

What are Cataracts?

Similar to cameras, eyes have clear lenses in them that are used for focusing. A cataract is an opaque spot inside a lens. Such an opaque spot can be tiny (called an incipient cataract) and not interfere with functional vision. Or it can block more of the lens and cause some blurred vision (this is an immature cataract). Later on, the whole lense can become obscured by opacity, and that is when functional vision is lost (this is referred to as a mature cataract). Sometimes mature cataracts can change gradually and become hypermature cataracts. They are smaller in size because of loss of water and protein from the eye’s lens. That makes the lens shrivel and makes the lens capsule wrinle, like when a grape becomes a raisin. Some hypermature cataracts are highly cloudy, and others have some clear spaces that offer some vision if the eye as a whole remains functional. The process of transformation form mature cataract to hypermature catarac can extend from several months to several years, depending on the age and breed of your canine.

What are not cataracts?

All older dogs, from around 6 years old) start to get a hardening of their lens called “nuclear sclerosis” that makes the lens start to look gray in color. That gray or grayish-blue tone gets stronger as the dog gets older. If you see this, don’t panic because nuclear sclerosis has nothing to do with dog cataracts, and shouldn’t cause any vision problems.

Nuclear sclerosis also takes place in people, and in people it causes a reduction of near vision, which is why people often need reading glasses as they get older. But dogs have poor near vision to begin with, so there is no real decrease in their vision that comes with nuclear sclerosis.

Is it easy to tell the difference between dog nuclear sclerosis and dog cataract? You really can’t. You can get your family vet to check your dog’s eyes for an initial diagnosis, but it is often necessary to go to a dog opthamologist to get a clear diagnosis. They have special equipment and expertise that allows them to distinguish between the two. Of course there is always a possibility that geriatric dogs can develop both nuclear sclerosis and cataract.

Your geriatric dog’s eyes may appear cloudy without it hampering his vision. Don’t assume that this is not cataract. It could indeed be incipient cataract as discussed above, with so far only small opacities that don’t obscure full vision. Dogs also have a powerful ability to adapt and compensate for loss of vision in one eye or even in both. They can rely on the other eye for certain information if one eye has an opacity that obscures vision. Even if both eyes have moderately severe cataracts, dogs can adapt by developing a memory map of where things are in their environment, so their memory fills in the spaces that are obscured by opacities. So the dog’s owner may not even be aware that their dog’s vision is seriously impaired – that is, until it gets very serious in both eyes. But it is important to take action against cataracts before they get to this stage of development.