By far, my first post on Horner's has received the most comments. Horner's syndrome is not a disease but rather a constellation of clinical signs resulting from sympathetic (not empathetic!) pathology that courses circuitously from the brain to the eye after running down a portion of the upper spine. If I were to run down the street after you, brandishing a knife or other threatening weapon, your sympathetic nervous system would kick in: your pupils will dilate, your eyes would bulge out, your eyelids wide open, and you'd run like heck. In animals (and people) with Horner's syndrome, the sympathetic branch to the eye is disrupted. Therefore, they exhibit a droopy eyelid, miotic (constricted) pupil, a sunken eyeball, and a prolapsed third eyelid (we lost our third eyelid a long time ago so don't worry if you don't have one).
Most cases of Horner's are idiopathic - we don't know why it happens, not due to anything serious, and tends to disappear after a few weeks or months. That said, not all cases can be dismissed without concern. Causes of Horner's syndrome are myriad: middle ear infections, polyps, tumors/cancer, hypothyroidism, spinal disease, thoracic (chest) disease, and more. Even pulling too hard on a dog's leash and ear cleaning (especially in cats) can cause Horner's. Pets showing signs of Horner's syndrome should have a thorough physical exam done by a veterinarian. Keep posting and thanks for all the comments!
(in virtually all cases, unlike dogs, Horner's syndrome in cats has a primary cause. Photo from vision4pets.com.)
2 comments:
Hello,
My 7 month old male Yorkie was neutered on a Thursday Februrary 23, 2012. His right eye was covered in blood. They said it was due to removal of 4 decidual teeth. He also got his back dew claws removed.
His right eye was droopy and the vet said could be anesthetic. I didnt' wait and went to another vet after the one who performed the surgery said I may have scratched his cornea by cleaning the blood off with warm water and a baby washcloth. The vet we went to afterwards prescribed Fucithalmic and tested his eyes. No cornea scratches. Eye was responding as it should. Third eylid was in tact and active. Told us if not better after a few days with the drops to bring him back. His eye remained droopy and the vet performed further tests and diagnosed Horner's Syndrome. He wants us to continue with the Fucithalmic. My question is this ....Could the surgery have caused this....medication or not enough lubrication in eye during surgery? And I read online that the drops to treat Horner's syndrome best would be a 2.5% phenylephrine. Any advice.
Thanks,
Renee
Gigi,
The vast majority of Horner's syndrome in dogs is idiopathic (no discernible cause). Some dogs, but more often in cats, wake up from anesthesia with Horner's syndrome. The vast majority of these having had their ears cleaned while under general anesthesia. The previous vet did nothing wrong. It happens so infrequently and almost always gets better within a few weeks or months, and does not affect the pet.
Phenylephrine is used to test the localization of the lesion involving Horner's syndrome. In my opinion, that would be entirely academic at this time. Take a breath and be patient!
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