Spokesman-Review, Dec. 2, 2003
Man's best friend goes through cataract surgery to restore sight
By Kristen Kromer, staff writer Dr. Bill Yakely pauses to pray for clarity and calm before operating on Cody's eyes. Brian Plonka/The Spokesman-Review |
Cody awoke from surgery licking his lips.
Right away, he noticed several things were different: His legs were wobbly from the anesthesia, the plastic cone around his neck made it impossible to smell things and his eyes felt scratchy and sore.
In a truck full of hope, Cody and his owner Steve Smith had traveled from Montana to see Spokane veterinary ophthalmologist Bill Yakely Monday. If Yakely agreed with Cody's vet back home, the 5-month-old border collie mix would be able to undergo surgery to have his cataracts removed, allowing him to see clearly for probably the first time in his life.
Cody won't ever exclaim "Aha! I can see!" But a trip through an obstacle course today should help Yakely and Smith know if the surgery was a success.
"What more could you do for a human or animal than to give them their sight back?" Smith mused. "That's why we decided to do it."
Smith and his wife Alayne Marker are the angels who turn up near the end of many cats' ninth life. They arrive as dogs shudder, circle and plunk down in dejected heaps on cold shelter floors.
The two own Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary -- 160 acres in Ovando, Mont., halfway between Helena and Missoula. Founded in December 2000, the nonprofit sanctuary provides a home for animals that are elderly, disabled or infirm -- those with chronic illnesses or with medical needs the shelters can't meet.
The ones that aren't going to be adopted.
"We're helping provide what safety net we can," Smith said. "The humane society needs to focus on adoption. I'd never suggest they keep a disabled dog for six months while euthanizing others."
What started with six stray cats became Rolling Dog Ranch, now home to more than 60 animals, including 27 dogs, 10 cats, five blind horses, sheep and two Angus calves.
All of their stories are online at www.rollingdogranch.org.
The couple works full time -- Smith has his own marketing and advertising firm and Marker is an attorney -- in addition to caring for their ranch full of animals.
Most come from shelters. Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services and SpokAnimal have given them Patti, Buddy and Ray Charles, all blind dogs, and Angel, a blind and deaf cat.
Cody came into the Idaho Humane Society in Boise as a stray in August. A volunteer noticed he was blind from cataracts and called the Rolling Dog Ranch. After examining Cody, vets in Montana thought he had functioning retinas behind his cataracts. That meant he would probably be able to see if he could have surgery to remove the cataracts.
Smith said he and Marker wrestled with whether to go through with the surgery because of the cost.
For the first two years, Smith and Marker supported the ranch with their savings, but the past year has seen lots of help from private contributions. Smith said the ranch spent more than $15,000 on veterinary bills this year. Cody's surgery will add at least $1,400.
They wouldn't go through with Cody's surgery if it meant cutting back on services for other animals, Smith said.
But Cody is young. He has his whole life ahead of him.
"We have 11 blind dogs and this is the first time we've had the opportunity to restore vision," Smith said. "We owe it to him to at least try."
Before Yakely would do the surgery, he had to see if Cody had healthy retinas by doing an electroretinogram on Monday. Yakely put a special contact lens connected to a computer into Cody's eyes, one at a time. Then, in a darkened room, Yakely shined a red light, then a blue light into each eye.
There was a 50-50 chance that Smith and Cody had made the four-hour drive for nothing.
"I'm on pins and needles," said Smith. "This is killing me."
But Cody's retinas were off-the-charts healthy, so Yakely scrubbed up and prepared for surgery. Before each operation, he and his assistant Debbi Vigue pray for their patient. Yakely asks God for a clear mind and calm hand.
"I can't drink coffee," Yakely said, "even though it's my favorite drink. You can't shake."
To remove the cloudy cataracts, Yakely used a microsurgical technique called phacoemulsification, which is also used on humans. He cut a 3.2 millimeter slit in the cornea and inserted a special needle into the eye's lens, which is like an envelope. The needle shot out ultrasonic waves that broke up the cataract like a jackhammer on concrete, then rinsed the area and vacuumed up all the pieces.
Cody's formerly cloudy blue eyes instantly turned chocolate brown.
Yakely then cut off the front of the lens, which would turn cloudy if left in place. He closed the incision with four stitches, each as thick as a single strand of hair.
The surgery took about two hours. Cody was Yakely's 517th cataract surgery patient.
As the anesthesia began to wear off, Cody moaned and whined. Smith stood by him, holding his white paws.
"I am thrilled we were able to do this for him," Smith said. "That we were able to give him this incredible gift."
With cataracts, Cody saw the world in splotches of dark and light. Now Cody should be able to see things clearly at a distance. But Yakely said it could take about six months before Cody can see things close up. He will be on eye medication for the rest of his life.
Once they see how Cody adjusts to his new sense, Smith said he and Marker likely will search for a family to adopt Cody, so the ranch can keep on doing what it does best.
"We'll make that decision after a few months, but it's probably the right thing to do," he said. "That frees up space for another animal who wouldn't make it."
Copyright 2003. Reproduced with permission of The Spokesman-Review. Permission is granted in the interest of public discussion and does not imply endorsement of any product, service or organization otherwise mentioned herein.
