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Dog Mia back to health after sticky situation

A lucky dog named Mia is back to full health after vets removed a large stick from her eye socket following a freak accident.

The Collie had the 5 centimetre twig removed by veterinary ophthalmologists thanks to specialist scans that allowed them to see the stick’s placement.

Remarkably, the stick was carefully removed leaving Mia with only a small scratch.

Mia the Collie, Credit Paul McGlynn
Mia the Collie, Credit Paul McGlynn

Hedge accident

Mia’s owners feared their six year old pet had lost her eye after she was playing in a hedge and emerged with a stick poking from her eye socket.

She was quickly referred by her local vet in Doune to the specialist ophthalmology service at the University of Edinburgh’s Hospital for Small Animals at the Royal (Dick) School for Veterinary Studies.

CT Scan

Once there, expert vets performed a CT scan to evaluate where the stick was and how much damage it had caused to Mia’s eye.

Thankfully, the scan images revealed that the stick was still in one piece and lodged just above the eye.

Pictures from the CT scan allowed the vets to carefully remove the object without the need for an invasive operation, leaving Mia with only a superficial scratch on her eye.

No long-term damage

After flushing the area with fluids to make sure there were no remaining fragments, Mia was able to walk out of the clinic unaided and has suffered no long term damage to her sight.

The vets who treated Mia are delighted with her recovery.

Stick removed from Mia's eye
Stick removed from Mia's eye, credit University of Edinburgh

This was an unusual situation for us and we are really pleased to see Mia back to full health and enjoying life. We are lucky to have such an amazing group of people here, including Specialists in anaesthesia and radiology, and a highly skilled and compassionate nursing team who could make Mia’s treatment and recovery go as smoothly as possible.

Ben BlacklockSpecialist ophthalmologist, University of Edinburgh

 

We can’t believe that Mia has escaped with just a scratch, we were convinced she would have to lose her eye. We are grateful to the team who treated her and so pleased to have her home as happy as ever.

Paul McGlynnMia's Owner

Related links

Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies

Hospital for Small Animals