Pulse - May 2023 - 13

UC DAVIS UPDATE
UC Davis Study Shows
Complexity and Treatability of
Eye Disease in Kittens
Rob Warren, UC Davis VMTH Communications & Marketing Officer
G
ratitude, a 7-month-old kitten,
was brought to the UC
Davis veterinary hospital from
the Fieldhaven Feline Rescue
with symblepharon in her left
eye. This blinding condition
occurs when the conjunctiva
fuses with other nearby surface
structures of the eye or
eyelid soon after birth, likely secondary
to a feline herpesvirus
infection on the ocular surface.
While the disease is seen commonly
in feline practices, its
clinical significance can vary
widely, and outcomes are poorly
documented in academic veterinary
literature. Over the past 20
years, research on the condition
has been described in only five
published papers, covering just
20 kittens.
To help better describe the disease and its
potential treatments, UC Davis veterinary
scientists recently reported on 54 eyes in 40
kittens seen with symblepharon at UC Davis.
This study, published in the Journal of Feline
Medicine and Surgery, doubles the number of
kittens ever described with this condition, and
represents a large retrospective study of kittens
with this condition all seen at a single institution
over 20 years.
The paper gives a better evaluation of the
signalment, medical and surgical treatment
options, and outcome for kittens with the
disease. One of the biggest takeaways of the
study was that symblepharon in kittens does
not represent one specific diagnosis, but rather
a diverse group of conditions with varying
clinical appearances and prognosis for vision
and comfort.
" There is a misconception that this disease
is not treatable or that it has a high rate of
PULSE
MAY 2023
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Professors Karen Vernau (left) and David Maggs (center)
mentor student Hikaru Shiraishi (right) on the proper techniques of examining a kitten's eyes.
recurrence, " said Dr. David Maggs, a professor
of ophthalmology at UC Davis. " We were
able to separate out that smaller percentage of
cases that do recur from those that respond
much better to therapy, and to determine that
this is not one homogenous disease. Many of
these cases were previously being referred for
enucleation, but we discovered that almost all
these kittens have visual, comfortable eyes that
can be saved. "
The researchers were able to classify symblepharon
into five types and identified some
forms of the disease that were more readily
amenable to surgical treatment than others.
Additionally, they determined that the surgery
needed was relatively simple in some cases.
The study also introduced a new surgical technique
for managing this disease.
" By carefully identifying which type of symblepharon
a kitten may have, the surgery to
correct two of the types could be performed by
a general practitioner, " said Dr. Karen Vernau,
a clinical professor of neurology/neurosurgery
who works with many shelters and rescue
groups through the Access To Care Program
at UC Davis. " This could allow shelter veterinarians
to correct the condition at the time of
neutering. In fact, many of the surgeries documented
in this study were performed by our
Community Surgery Service. "
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
has an extensive history of working with
shelter animals and is expanding that through
its Access To Care Program. Many times, shelter
animals' treatments are basic-such as immunizations
and spays/neuters-giving them
a good start to a healthy life. But Gratitude's
needs were extensive, requiring the collaborative
nature of specialty care at UC Davis.
Beyond her successful eye treatment, Gratitude
also had a diaphragmatic hernia corrected
by the Soft Tissue Surgery Service and
recovered in the Intensive Care Unit, where
she was cared for by the hospital's Emergency
and Critical Care Service. After making a full
recovery, Gratitude was adopted by one of the
UC Davis staff members who cared for her
during her hospitalization. P
13

Pulse - May 2023

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