Brachycephal？c P？gmentary Kerat？t？s In Dogs

Brachycephalic dogs are predisposed to eye disorders due to their anatomical structures. One of the most common eye problem of brachycephalic breeds is corneal pigmentation, also called corneal melanosis or pigmentary keratitis. Chronic irritation of hair on the corneal surface, especially in eyelid and eyelash anomalies, plays an important role in etiology. The aim of this study is to evaluate pigmentary keratitis which occurs frequently in brachycephalic dogs and reveal treatment outcomes. The study material consisted of 105 eyes of 73 dogs with pigmentary keratitis. Pigmentary keratitis was most commonly seen in Pug breed. According to the owners’ anamnesis and clinical examination, visual loss (n=72), conjunctivitis (n=12), ocular discharge (n=48), entropion (n=62), distichiasis (n=27), corneal opacity (n=13) and vascularization (n=18) were determined. For surgical treatment, entropion was corrected with kantoplasty technique and eyelashes were removed in distichiasis and trichiasis. Cyclosporine and sodium hyaluronate drops were continuously used for medical treatment of the eye. Also, dexamethasone phosphate drops were applied regularly for 1 week according to corneal vascularization and opacity. After correcting the lid and eyelash defects, it was seen that pigment migration decreased with removal of chronic irritation to corneal surface and stopped by the addition of medical treatmen