Please do not take any information in this post as medical advice. I am not a qualified vet. Everything in this post is from my own experience and research and you should consult your vet if you think your dog has entropion
Hello everyone,
Our sweet 7 month old golden girl, Amber, has just had surgery to correct entropion in her right lower eyelid and I thought I’d make a post about our experience. When we were looking into entropion and corrective surgery we found very little information online that came from pet owners, so I hope this is helpful if your furry family member is going through the same thing.
I want to preface this post by saying we got Amber from a very reputable breeder. They are family friends of ours and I know they would’ve done everything they could to help the puppies if they had noticed anything amiss whilst the pups were in their care. While entropion is largely believed to be hereditary, it can also be caused by damage to the eye (such as an infection or scratch). Amber showed no signs of entropion until she was around 11 weeks old, by which point we had already had her for several weeks. My in-laws have Amber’s maternal great-grandmother and grandmother, so we have extensive knowledge of their family tree and have not found any other dog for 5+ generations with the condition in their line. Unfortunately Amber is just one of the unlucky ones.
I will leave a summary of cost, symptoms, complications and any other relevant information at the end of this post for ease.
This is our gorgeous girl at 8 weeks old, just after we brought her home:
![Image]()
Before Surgery
As I said we first noticed Amber’s eye wasn’t sitting quite right when she was around 11 weeks old:
![Image]()
Our vet diagnosed her with entropion and recommended we try temporary eyelid tacking to keep her comfortable while we waited to see if she would grow out of it. Some puppies do grow out of it, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Amber.
This was immediately after tacking:
![Image]()
And a few months after tacking:
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The tacking procedure was very simple and Amber was home within a few hours, sleepy but otherwise fine! She had three stitches put in to keep her eyelid in place and stop any rubbing from her fur and eyelashes on her eye.
We thought the tacking had done the trick but a few weeks ago we noticed her eye was starting to flip inwards again:
![Image]()
It all went downhill pretty quickly after that as she got a nasty eye infection. The vet gave us steroid and antibiotic eye drops for a few days to clear up the infection and scheduled full corrective surgery for the entropion for the following week. She thought Amber might have spastic entropion (entropion caused by excessive squinting due to pain) as her eyelid settled when the vet gave her a local anaesthetic to have a look at her eye, which is why they waited a few days to do the surgery to see if the drops helped, but they didn’t so we went ahead with the surgery.
After Surgery
This was immediately after surgery. She had around 1cm of her eyelid removed in total; most of which was from the outer third of her eye:
![Image]()
![Image]()
As you can see her eyelid is quite droopy and sore. The vet did say that sometimes the droopy eyes are permanent however Amber’s eye seems to be going back to normal as the swelling slowly goes down.
This was a few days after surgery:
![Image]()
And today, a week after surgery:
![Image]()
It can take 2-4 weeks for the swelling to completely go, so we won’t know for another few weeks how it will end up looking or if Amber will need a second surgery (more on this later), but as long as Amber is comfortable that’s all we care about.
Amber will need to wear a cone for approximately 10-14 days, depending on how she’s healing and how quickly her stitches are dissolving.
Aftercare
Amber was given Rimadyl tablets, an anti-inflammatory, for 7 days. We had no problem giving this to her, we broke it up into about 8 pieces and put it on her breakfast. She does have salmon oil with her meals so this could’ve helped with the taste.
We gave Amber a small meal of scrambled eggs when she got home after surgery and resumed her usual feeding schedule the day after. She had no problem with this but it’s completely normal if your dog doesn’t feel great for a couple of days after surgery so don’t worry if they’re not eating as they usually do, as long as they’re drinking and are otherwise fine.
The vet advised short lead walks for a few days, and she can now go for full length walks as long as she wears her cone and is kept on the lead. A word of advice about the cone: please take it seriously and keep it on. We thought we’d give Amber a break from wearing it one evening while we were both there to watch her as she’d never tried to scratch her eye, but that’s the first thing she did as soon as we took it off! Luckily she didn’t rip any of the stitches out but she did irritate them and make them bleed a little bit. I know we feel cruel when they’re uncomfortable with cones etc but it’s far better to keep the cone on for the recommended time instead of risking them getting an infection or worse, having to undergo the surgery again when they are already sore from the first time.
Other than that we just clean her eye with a cotton pad and antiseptic spray after walks and any time we notice any eye goop. She was reluctant to let us touch her eye at first but as the days go on she’s happy for us to have a good look at it and clean it as usual. Other than when she scratched at the stitches she has had no bleeding or weeping/discharge.
Other Info
I saw a lot of people online recommending you go to an eye specialist for this kind of surgery as there are some botched horror stories, however I think it depends on the kind of vet practice you go to. We went to our regular vets as the surgeon who performed the surgery has over 15 years experience with entropion surgery and similar surgeries, and we felt confident they would do a good job. It can cost up to £2000 for an eye specialist to perform the same surgery and while we would’ve happily paid this if it was the best thing for Amber, we saw no reason to go elsewhere given our vets had the means and experience to do a good job. Do what is best for your pet and your circumstances. It is still early days but Amber’s eye is lining up exactly like her other eye and I don’t think we will notice a difference once it’s completely healed and her fur has grown back.
Whilst some puppies do grow out of entropion, if they get to 6 months old and are still suffering with entropion then they are probably unlikely to outgrow it, and if your dog develops entropion as an adult it is very unlikely they will outgrow it. We were terrified of Amber having the surgery to begin with but we are so happy we did it now. By all means try tacking and anything else your vet or specialist recommends first, but please don’t put off surgery if all else has failed. Entropion is extremely painful and can cause corneal ulcers, eye infections and permanent damage to the eye resulting in blindness if left untreated. It’s bad enough having one eyelash in your eye, imagine having several in your eye at once, constantly rubbing and making your eye sore.
Summary
Cost at regular vets (UK): Approximately £640. According to our itemised bill the majority of this was for the anaesthetic and fluids etc whilst Amber was having the surgery. As she is only 7 months old our vet didn’t think she needed blood work doing before the surgery, but if you have an older dog this might be a good idea just to check they’re healthy enough to withstand the anaesthetic.
Recovery: Approximately 2 weeks wearing a cone. Around 2-4 weeks for the swelling to go down and up to 8 weeks to be completely healed.
Symptoms: Excessive squinting and rubbing at the eye (although Amber never did this until the infection). Other symptoms include watery eyes, discharge, and obvious signs of the eyelid flipping inwards.
Potential complications:
Under-correction; where too little of the eyelid is removed, resulting in a further surgery being needed to remove the rest of the excess eyelid
Over-correction; where too much of the eyelid is removed, resulting in ectropion (not enough eyelid remaining), which can cause dry eye and make your dog more prone to infections. Ectropion can be fixed however it is much easier to correct entropion and perform a second surgery, so I’ve heard most surgeons will err on the side of caution and remove less than they need to in most cases just to be on the safe side.
Apologies for the long post, but I do hope it’s helpful. It’s a minefield of information online so I just wanted to share a real experience in case you and your dog are going through the same thing. Try not to worry, it’s a very simple procedure if your dog needs it, and the prognosis is excellent. Once it’s done (even if you need a second surgery), it’s done and your dog can live their lives as they deserve.
Amber is the light of our lives and hopefully now she can live a full and happy life. She is always so happy and is the friendliest dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She deserves nothing but the best 🧡
![Image]()
Hello everyone,
Our sweet 7 month old golden girl, Amber, has just had surgery to correct entropion in her right lower eyelid and I thought I’d make a post about our experience. When we were looking into entropion and corrective surgery we found very little information online that came from pet owners, so I hope this is helpful if your furry family member is going through the same thing.
I want to preface this post by saying we got Amber from a very reputable breeder. They are family friends of ours and I know they would’ve done everything they could to help the puppies if they had noticed anything amiss whilst the pups were in their care. While entropion is largely believed to be hereditary, it can also be caused by damage to the eye (such as an infection or scratch). Amber showed no signs of entropion until she was around 11 weeks old, by which point we had already had her for several weeks. My in-laws have Amber’s maternal great-grandmother and grandmother, so we have extensive knowledge of their family tree and have not found any other dog for 5+ generations with the condition in their line. Unfortunately Amber is just one of the unlucky ones.
I will leave a summary of cost, symptoms, complications and any other relevant information at the end of this post for ease.
This is our gorgeous girl at 8 weeks old, just after we brought her home:
Before Surgery
As I said we first noticed Amber’s eye wasn’t sitting quite right when she was around 11 weeks old:
Our vet diagnosed her with entropion and recommended we try temporary eyelid tacking to keep her comfortable while we waited to see if she would grow out of it. Some puppies do grow out of it, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Amber.
This was immediately after tacking:
And a few months after tacking:
The tacking procedure was very simple and Amber was home within a few hours, sleepy but otherwise fine! She had three stitches put in to keep her eyelid in place and stop any rubbing from her fur and eyelashes on her eye.
We thought the tacking had done the trick but a few weeks ago we noticed her eye was starting to flip inwards again:
It all went downhill pretty quickly after that as she got a nasty eye infection. The vet gave us steroid and antibiotic eye drops for a few days to clear up the infection and scheduled full corrective surgery for the entropion for the following week. She thought Amber might have spastic entropion (entropion caused by excessive squinting due to pain) as her eyelid settled when the vet gave her a local anaesthetic to have a look at her eye, which is why they waited a few days to do the surgery to see if the drops helped, but they didn’t so we went ahead with the surgery.
After Surgery
This was immediately after surgery. She had around 1cm of her eyelid removed in total; most of which was from the outer third of her eye:
As you can see her eyelid is quite droopy and sore. The vet did say that sometimes the droopy eyes are permanent however Amber’s eye seems to be going back to normal as the swelling slowly goes down.
This was a few days after surgery:
And today, a week after surgery:
It can take 2-4 weeks for the swelling to completely go, so we won’t know for another few weeks how it will end up looking or if Amber will need a second surgery (more on this later), but as long as Amber is comfortable that’s all we care about.
Amber will need to wear a cone for approximately 10-14 days, depending on how she’s healing and how quickly her stitches are dissolving.
Aftercare
Amber was given Rimadyl tablets, an anti-inflammatory, for 7 days. We had no problem giving this to her, we broke it up into about 8 pieces and put it on her breakfast. She does have salmon oil with her meals so this could’ve helped with the taste.
We gave Amber a small meal of scrambled eggs when she got home after surgery and resumed her usual feeding schedule the day after. She had no problem with this but it’s completely normal if your dog doesn’t feel great for a couple of days after surgery so don’t worry if they’re not eating as they usually do, as long as they’re drinking and are otherwise fine.
The vet advised short lead walks for a few days, and she can now go for full length walks as long as she wears her cone and is kept on the lead. A word of advice about the cone: please take it seriously and keep it on. We thought we’d give Amber a break from wearing it one evening while we were both there to watch her as she’d never tried to scratch her eye, but that’s the first thing she did as soon as we took it off! Luckily she didn’t rip any of the stitches out but she did irritate them and make them bleed a little bit. I know we feel cruel when they’re uncomfortable with cones etc but it’s far better to keep the cone on for the recommended time instead of risking them getting an infection or worse, having to undergo the surgery again when they are already sore from the first time.
Other than that we just clean her eye with a cotton pad and antiseptic spray after walks and any time we notice any eye goop. She was reluctant to let us touch her eye at first but as the days go on she’s happy for us to have a good look at it and clean it as usual. Other than when she scratched at the stitches she has had no bleeding or weeping/discharge.
Other Info
I saw a lot of people online recommending you go to an eye specialist for this kind of surgery as there are some botched horror stories, however I think it depends on the kind of vet practice you go to. We went to our regular vets as the surgeon who performed the surgery has over 15 years experience with entropion surgery and similar surgeries, and we felt confident they would do a good job. It can cost up to £2000 for an eye specialist to perform the same surgery and while we would’ve happily paid this if it was the best thing for Amber, we saw no reason to go elsewhere given our vets had the means and experience to do a good job. Do what is best for your pet and your circumstances. It is still early days but Amber’s eye is lining up exactly like her other eye and I don’t think we will notice a difference once it’s completely healed and her fur has grown back.
Whilst some puppies do grow out of entropion, if they get to 6 months old and are still suffering with entropion then they are probably unlikely to outgrow it, and if your dog develops entropion as an adult it is very unlikely they will outgrow it. We were terrified of Amber having the surgery to begin with but we are so happy we did it now. By all means try tacking and anything else your vet or specialist recommends first, but please don’t put off surgery if all else has failed. Entropion is extremely painful and can cause corneal ulcers, eye infections and permanent damage to the eye resulting in blindness if left untreated. It’s bad enough having one eyelash in your eye, imagine having several in your eye at once, constantly rubbing and making your eye sore.
Summary
Cost at regular vets (UK): Approximately £640. According to our itemised bill the majority of this was for the anaesthetic and fluids etc whilst Amber was having the surgery. As she is only 7 months old our vet didn’t think she needed blood work doing before the surgery, but if you have an older dog this might be a good idea just to check they’re healthy enough to withstand the anaesthetic.
Recovery: Approximately 2 weeks wearing a cone. Around 2-4 weeks for the swelling to go down and up to 8 weeks to be completely healed.
Symptoms: Excessive squinting and rubbing at the eye (although Amber never did this until the infection). Other symptoms include watery eyes, discharge, and obvious signs of the eyelid flipping inwards.
Potential complications:
Under-correction; where too little of the eyelid is removed, resulting in a further surgery being needed to remove the rest of the excess eyelid
Over-correction; where too much of the eyelid is removed, resulting in ectropion (not enough eyelid remaining), which can cause dry eye and make your dog more prone to infections. Ectropion can be fixed however it is much easier to correct entropion and perform a second surgery, so I’ve heard most surgeons will err on the side of caution and remove less than they need to in most cases just to be on the safe side.
Apologies for the long post, but I do hope it’s helpful. It’s a minefield of information online so I just wanted to share a real experience in case you and your dog are going through the same thing. Try not to worry, it’s a very simple procedure if your dog needs it, and the prognosis is excellent. Once it’s done (even if you need a second surgery), it’s done and your dog can live their lives as they deserve.
Amber is the light of our lives and hopefully now she can live a full and happy life. She is always so happy and is the friendliest dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She deserves nothing but the best 🧡
I will post updates as and when I have them. Thank you for welcoming me to the golden community!
