Ophthalmology
What Is A Veterinary Ophthalmologist?
A veterinary ophthalmologist is a doctor who specializes in diseases that can affect your pet's eye and vision. A veterinary ophthalmologist is also equipped to diagnose and treat diseases that affect the structures surrounding the eye, such as the eyelids, conjunctiva, and some of the bones of the skull that comprise the eye socket. A veterinary ophthalmologist will combine medical and surgical treatments in order to most effectively treat your pet's eye problem.
While your general practitioner veterinarian can diagnose and treat many routine eye conditions, certain diseases and injuries require the care of a doctor who has had specialized, intensive training in veterinary ophthalmology in order to provide the very best outcome for your pet.
Pet eye diseases that you may be familiar with as a result of your own visits to a human ophthalmologist include cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachments, and corneal ulcers.
Why Does My Pet Need A Veterinary Ophthalmologist?
While your general practitioner veterinarian can handle many aspects of your pet's care, just as in human medicine, sometimes there is a need for the attention of a specialist. If your pet has a complicated or difficult problem, your pet may need the care of a veterinary ophthalmologist. You can be assured that a veterinarian who knows when to refer you and your pet for more specialized diagnostic work or treatment is one that is caring and committed to ensuring your pet receives the highest standard of medical care for his or her problem.
While in some cases, your veterinarian may be able to simply consult with a specialist about your pet's care, in other cases it is necessary to actually refer you and your pet to the specialist for more advanced diagnostics and treatment, including surgery.
What Special Problems Does A Veterinary Ophthalmologist Treat?
Routine eye matters can frequently be handled by your general practitioner veterinarian. The conditions listed below, however, frequently require the attention of a specialist.
- Cataracts
- Corneal ulcer
- Entropion
- Glaucoma
- Prolapsed gland of the nictitans (cherry eye)
- Uveitis
Will My Regular Veterinarian Still Be Involved?
Your veterinary ophthalmologist will work together with your veterinarian as part of your pet's total veterinary health care team. Your general practitioner veterinarian will still oversee all aspects of your pet's care, but with the added, specialized input of a veterinary ophthalmologist. For example, if a veterinary ophthalmologist ultimately diagnoses diabetes in your pet as a result of an eye examination for cataracts, that information will be relayed back to your general practitioner veterinarian, who will treat your pet's diabetes. The additional input of the veterinary ophthalmologist will be called upon as needed as your veterinarian manages your pet's illness.
Did You Know?
- Do you know why your pet's eyes seem to glow when caught in the light at night? It's because of a specialized structure called a tapetum. Most animals that are active at night have this special, additional layer underneath their retina. This reflective structure acts like a mirror, and reflects light back through your pet's retina to enhance night vision.
- Do dogs see only in black and white? While we can't ask them, most veterinary ophthalmologists now believe that dogs see colors similarly to how a color blind human would perceive them: Not only in black and white, but with a limited scale of colors.
Does your cat or dog need a veterinary ophthalmologist? Talk to your VCA vet, or find a VCA board certified veterinary ophthalmologist near you.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Specialized Training Does A Veterinary Ophthalmologist Have?
Just like a human ophthalmologist, veterinarians interested in ophthalmology must seek additional, intensive training to become a specialist and earn this prestigious credentialing. In veterinary medicine, specialty status is granted by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO). A veterinarian that has received this specialty status will list the initials, 'DACVO,' after his or her DVM degree. Or, the veterinarian may indicate that he or she is a 'Diplomate' of the ACVO. The word 'Diplomate' typically means the specialist has achieved the following:
• Obtained a traditional 8 year veterinary degree (four years of college plus four years of veterinary school).
• Usually has completed a one year internship in small animal medicine and surgery.
• Completed an additional three year residency in ophthalmology at a veterinary teaching hospital.
• Completed the credentialing application process established by the ACVO, which includes publishing credits, case reports, and a resume.
• Passed a rigorous, multi-day examination consisting of written, practical, and surgical sections.
Veterinary Ophtalmologists are Veterinarian Specialists in Cat and Dog Eye Problems
Need an Eye Vet? Learn more about VCA's board certified Veterinary Ophthalmologists and how they can help treat your cat or dog's eye problems.After completing and passing all of the above, the veterinarian is recognized by his or her peers as a board certified specialist in veterinary ophthalmology. As you can see, when your pet needs the specialized care of a veterinary ophthalmologist, all of the intensive training and additional education outlined above is focused on helping him or her to recover from or enjoy the highest quality of life while living with the condition.
- How is the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital different from other specialty hospitals?
Welcome to VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. If you are new to our hospital, I hope your experience will be as pleasant as possible and we hope that we can live up to your expectations. If you are returning, we are pleased that you have once again chosen our hospital to help meet your pet's health care needs. In order to improve our service, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little about our hospital, how it functions and how we can both work to provide your pet with the best care possible. VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital is one of the largest private small animal hospitals in the country. We have referral hospital for veterinarians in Southern California and we are a teaching hospital providing post-graduate education for veterinarians. We have a professional staff of over 25 veterinarians including specialists in such disciplines as internal medicine, surgery, oncology, radiation therapy, dermatology, ophthalmology, radiology, and cardiology. Specialists are available 7-days-a-week on an appointment basis. One advantage of a large hospital like VCA WLA is that all cases receive the benefit of input from a number of veterinarians all of whom lend their special expertise to the problem at hand.We are open 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365 days of the year to provide comprehensive care. However there are instances when waiting times to see a doctor may be long depending on the time of day and the number of emergencies that are being handled. To avoid unnecessary delays, especially if you don't have a medical emergency, you may wish to call ahead to determine if there is a wait to see a doctor or to schedule an appointment with one of our staff doctors at a time convenient to you.
VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital has one of the largest graduate teaching programs in the country through our internship and residency programs. Interns and residents are graduate veterinarians who are seeking to obtain additional supervised training and expertise in a facility such as ours where the caseload and the availability of specialists ensures an excellent teaching environment. Competition for these positions is intense and those selected are amongst the brightest in their class.
Having a sick or injured pet can be very stressful and we will work to help alleviate your concerns while we tend to the needs of your pet. In order to help improve our service, we do wish to remind you of a few items that should help. First, if you need to obtain a prescription refill please let us know 24 hours in advance. All prescription refills must be approved by a doctor. We need this time to obtain approval and have your prescription available. Secondly, when your pet is hospitalized, the attending doctor will be calling to give you an update after 11 a.m. in the morning. Prior to 11 a.m., your doctor will be in rounds where all the hospitalized cases are discussed amongst our medical and surgical staff and unless there is an emergency, your doctor will not be able to take your phone calls until this time. This allows us to obtain a wide range of opinions regarding your pet's condition, and obtain the input from all the specialists on duty that day. We work as a team, which helps in providing more complete medical care. Of course, we do have visiting hours every evening from 7 to 8 p.m. so that you can visit with your pet, talk face to face with the attending doctor, and help in the healing process. Lastly, if your pet is being admitted in the morning for an elective procedure (simple mass excisions, endoscopy, etc.) your pet should be able to go home the same evening between the hours of 7-10:30 p.m. This helps us ensure that your pet has completely recovered from anesthesia and is ready to return home after evening rounds have been completed. It is possible that on rare occasions, elective procedures may be performed later in the day or even postponed until the following day if unforeseen emergencies arise which demand our immediate attention. We will always place the medical needs of a patient above those of a schedule and if we need to unexpectedly change you pet's procedure date or time we will be sure to notify you as soon as we are aware of the situation.
We are primarily concerned about your pet's health and will do our best to provide the best health care possible. This of course involves a fee and at times veterinary bills can seem quite expensive. At first this may be hard to understand but the reality is that veterinary medicine is not all that different from human medicine. Veterinarians spend as much time as physicians in school and veterinarians can provide many if not all of the services that would be available to you or I in a human hospital. Our veterinary facility is also unique in many respects. Our hospital is quite large. We employ over 30 doctors and over 150 technicians, front office and housekeeping staff. VCA WLA also has a large specialty staff and a great deal of sophisticated equipment, which helps us to provide the best care possible. Lastly, we are open 24-hours-a-day, with doctors and technicians always available to see any emergencies as they arise and to monitor those pets that are hospitalized. We will do our best to provide you with written initial estimates and to keep you updated on a daily basis on the status of your account when your pet is hospitalized. It is expected that 100 % of the estimate will be left as a deposit when your pet is admitted (not necessary for routine or elective procedures) and that the balance will be paid in full at the time of discharge. While we do not offer payment plans we can offer you a financing plan through CareCredit. Again our front office staff can help you with these arrangements.
Of course, the buck stops here. If you have any comments/suggestions/complaints or praise, I am always available. I can promise that I will listen to all of your concerns and compliments as we are always looking to improve our service and patient care. Feel free to call (310-473-2951) or fax (310-477-7412) and I will get back to you as soon as possible. You may also e-mail me at David.Bruyette@vcamail.com. I would like to thank you again for selecting VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital and I hope that both you and your pet have a pleasant experience.
Sincerely, David Bruyette, DVM
Medical Director
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Services Offered in Ophthalmology
- Fluoroscopy
- Phacofragmentation / cataract surgery
- CERF exams
- Tonometry
- Electroretinography
- Eyelid and corneal surgery
- Ocular ultrasonography
