Buffy’s Amazing Eyesight Restoring Surgery

The month of May saw one of our regular patients undergo an amazing surgery to restore her vision.

Buffy, an 11yo Maltese, was diagnosed with diabetes 18 months ago and as a consequence developed cataracts in both eyes. Now blind, the decision was made to remove both cataracts. Despite the surgery going well, complications led to her retinas detaching from the back of both eyes.

Until our Dr. Trevor had a say in things, this would have meant a permanent loss of vision. Given the dedication of her owners, who brings Buffy in to the clinic twice daily for her insulin injections, Dr. Trevor tracked down the head of Ophthalmology at Fremantle Hospital to see if anything could be done.

In what was Australia’s first, a team of medical professionals headed up by WA’s leading specialist ophthalmologist Dr. Dmitri Yellachich and our own veterinarian Dr. Trevor Pavey, reattached one of Buffy’s retinas in a 4 hour long operation. Capturing the attention of Perth’s media including the Sunday Times, The West Australian and Today Tonight, the operation was much anticipated by all.

It’s too soon to tell if it has been a success, but even so it is an exciting step forward for the veterinary world. When asked his thoughts on the procedure, Dr. Trevor remarked “I hope that this procedure can become as common place as cataract removal surgery in time. For now, I’m just glad that through a combined medical effort, we have managed to learn so much and offer our little Buffy a glimmer of hope.”