Primrose Hill Vets has removed an incredible 1kg of excess skin during a facelift on a Bassett Hound who had been left struggling to see due to his drooping and sagging eyelids.
Mike Woods, an experienced ophthalmologist at Primrose Hill Veterinary Hospital in Sallynoggin, removed the large section of skin from across the dog’s neck.
This allowed him to then stretch and tighten the remaining skin to remove a series of folds to the brow and reposition the eyelids of the three-year-old dog, called Chief.
Mike, who graduated from University College Dublin in 1984, said: “Chief had a typical Basset Hound anatomy but was suffering from severe upper lid ptosis (droop) and lower lid ectropion (slack and saggy) which had left him struggling to blink and to see properly.
“I performed a coronal rhytidectomy (facelift) to remove a very large amount of skin from across the dorsal cervical (neck) region close to his ears.
“I then placed walking sutures across the cranial region (skull) to increase tension of the skin back from the eyelids.
“It was a long, challenging surgery but everything went well and at his post operative check-up three weeks later the wound had settled down very well.
“The best news is that Chief is now visual as he no longer has any skin folds obstructing his vision. He may need further treatment in the future but, for now, he’s looking very well.”
Chief’s owner Tracey McDermott, from County Wicklow, is delighted with the outcome and full of praise for Mike and the expert Primrose Hill team.
Tracey said: “We realised when Chief was just a puppy that his eyes were quite droopy – more than seemed normal.
“As he grew and became bigger, so did the problem with his sight, so we were increasingly concerned about him.
“We would call his name and he’d lift his head up to try and see where we were but you could see he was struggling.
“We were constantly using eye drops to moisturise his eyes to stop them from becoming dry and sore.
“We realised something had to be done and went to see Mike at Primrose Hill about 18 months ago, as the skin was starting to cover Chief’s eyes and affect his vision.
“Mike said a facelift would help but explained it was best to wait until Chief was fully mature as he was still growing and developing more skin.
“He’s three now and fully grown so that’s why we went ahead with the surgery and it’s been a super success.
He recovered very well from the long surgery – although during the first week he required a lot of care and supervision as expected.
Tracey said: “Chief’s sight has significantly improved thanks to Mike and it’s had a really positive impact on his quality of life.
“He was always a happy dog who got on with life in his own way despite the problems he had, now it is great to see him so well – and, of course, for him to see us!
“We’re very grateful to Mike and the team at Primrose Hill. They were absolutely fabulous with Chief and I’d recommend them 100 per cent, as the welfare of the animal is their priority.”
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