1. Can my pet have surgery or all the necessary diagnostic tests the same day as the appointment?
Some diagnostic tests can be performed on the same day as your initial visit. Other tests requiring general anesthesia or advanced imaging (such as MRI or CAT scans) will be scheduled based on availability, often on a different day.
2. Do you have appointments after 5 pm or on the weekends?
Unfortunately, we do not offer routine office visits on the weekends or after 5 pm during the week. Should an emergency arise we ask that you go to your regular veterinarian or local emergency clinic.
3. Does my pet have to spend the night before or after surgery?
No, patients are admitted to the Animal Eye Center at 7:30 AM on the morning of surgery and are discharged to go home the same day. The time.
4. How much does cataract surgery cost and what does that include?
Preoperative assessment, surgical removal, and postoperative treatment of cataracts comprise a complex series of steps specifically tailored to your pet. This means that the optimal treatment of cataracts takes multiple visits and varies from patient to patient. Therefore, it is difficult to give a firm idea of costs. However, when you bring your pet in for the initial eye exam with us you will be given an estimate of costs specific to your pet. In particular, your pet’s species, age, general and ocular health, and previous medical problems are of major importance when we design the plan for your pet’s care. Pets undergoing cataract surgery require an initial examination, an electroretinogram or ERG, to determine their retinal function, ocular ultrasound, gonioscopy, medications, general anesthesia, hospitalization for the day, and of course the cataract surgery itself. Please note that it is not possible to have cataract surgery done the same day as your initial visit with us. A number of postoperative recheck examinations are essential to your pet’s surgical success. This process will be explained to you in detail during your first visit to the Animal Eye Center of NJ.
5. Do I have to come back to the Animal Eye Center for rechecks after surgery or can I go somewhere closer?
In most situations, your regular veterinarian depends on us to provide long-term management, requiring your recheck visits to be performed by one of our ophthalmologists.
6. What does a regular ophthalmology appointment include, and what does it cost?
Please plan to spend a minimum of 30 minutes with us for your first appointment. The ophthalmology veterinary technician and veterinary ophthalmologist will work together to obtain a thorough history of your pet’s problem and then examine your pet’s eyes. After the doctor completes the eye examination, he will discuss recommendations with you. A full report of the examination findings will be provided to you prior to your departure. Please contact us if you have any questions about the examination process or costs. In certain cases and only with your consent, additional diagnostic tests may be performed on the same day as the initial examination (requiring extra time); however, additional tests often have to be scheduled for a separate day.
7. Can you recommend medications for my pet without examining it?
Because many eye conditions present with similar signs and symptoms, it is impossible to make a correct diagnosis over the phone. It is also illegal and unethical to prescribe treatment for a patient and client with whom we have not established an appropriate client-veterinarian-patient relationship. For these reasons, it is not possible to prescribe any treatment without seeing your pet. We, therefore, require a full examination prior to making any recommendations for your pet.
8. Do you have to repeat the tests my vet did and should I bring all of the results with me?
It is important to bring all recent test results and ALL MEDICATIONS YOU GIVE TO YOUR PET (eye, oral, dermatological) with you on your first visit. Sometimes we do have to repeat tests if there were abnormalities that your veterinarian found, if the tests were not performed recently enough or if something might have changed between the test results and your visit to the Animal Eye Center of NJ.
9. Does my pet have to wear an E-collar after eye surgery?
An Elizabethan or E-collar usually is critical to successful eye surgery. The eye is especially fragile after surgery and pets can cause irreversible trauma to the eye if an e-collar is removed prematurely. We know they can be awkward and will recommend they be removed as soon as it is safe to do so. We find that our patients generally adapt to these protective devices well in 1-3 days.
10. I’ve heard there are drops available to treat my pets’ cataracts. Is this true?
Medical remedies have been inaccurately advertised as effective for the treatment of cataracts. There is no proven commercially available medical treatment known to reverse cataracts. However, there ARE new exciting advances in supplement research whereby cataracts in some dogs may be slowed or prevented with oral Ocuglo (see www.ocuglo.com for more information). Surgery is the only known definitive treatment both in animals and humans and often provides a return of functional vision to pets.
