Print

Treatment

Treatment will depend on the lesion's depth and the degree of ocular pain for your cat. The blemish may spontaneously separate itself from the surrounding tissue (slough), so timing is important. If you decide to wait to proceed with treatment, supportive care is necessary.

Your veterinarian may try to avoid surgery. If the pain persists for months, however, it could lead to corneal perforation. Therefore, some surgical options include: 

• Lamellar keratectomy, which removes thin layers of the corneal tissue. If performed early, it can rapidly relieve pain and promote faster corneal healing. It may also prevent the lesion from affecting the deeper corneal connective tissue.
• Corneal grafting procedures should be performed if more than 50 percent of the corneal connective tissue has been removed
• Postoperative corneal ulcer management with a broad-spectrum topical antibiotic, atropine ointment, and a tear supplement. 

Living and Management 

If the corneal sequestrum is managed with medications, your pet will need to be examined weekly. This is to watch for complications, such as the lesion separating itself from the surrounding tissue. If your cat undergoes the keratectomy procedure, its eye should be re-evaluated every seven to ten days, or until the corneal defect has healed.

There is also a high probability that the condition may spread to the other eye. Cats which produce small amounts of tears, have thick lesions or those that do not have the pigmented corneal tissue removed, may also have recurring problems with this condition.