Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 8/14/2010

Question
My dog has Lipid Keratopathy in both of his eyes. I am cleaning his eyes everyday. I fear his vision is getting worse and I heard it's possible that he can go blind if not cured.

What is the cure for Lipid Keratopathy? I believe it's surgery, I can't find much info on it. Also, about how much would it cost to get both of his eyes fixed? And will it be a permanent fix?

Money is not an issue for me when it comes to my dogs health but seeing that it's not up to me I need to know the price ranges so I can convince my mom before it's too late. :(

Please help me out, I'm very scared for my dog. Thank you!

Answer
Hi Jason,
this is a bit out of my league since I am not a vet, but I will attempt to help you understand this disease.
The term lipid kerotapathy refers to there being fatty deposits in the eyes. There are many causes of this:

 The last main type of corneal lipid deposition is lipid keratopathy that can occur due to a high blood cholesterol level. In other words, the eye problem is the result of a systemic (generalized) health problem. For example, hypothyroid dogs can have very high blood cholesterol levels. Sometimes this first manifests in the eye(s) as corneal opacities. It usually affects both eyes but might initially show up in just one eye. Besides hypothyroidism, other underlying causes include Cushing’s Disease, diabetes, inherited problems with lipid metabolism (e.g., Miniature Schnauzers), and even high-fat diets.

So you need to get your dog checked for hypo(low) thyroid and general health issues. If he is fat he needs to be put on a low fat diet (Science Diet light Adult food is the lowest in calories) and check regularly for fat in his blood.

How is it that he was diagnosed with this? Was this the actual diagnosis from your vet?  There is no cure for this Jason and surgery does not help this since it's from excessive fat in the bloodstream.

Most vets use a topical ointment for this condition on the eyes along with the low fat diet and medication for thyroid if his is low.

Below are two websites that describe this condition with some detail. One of them is a bit hard for the layperson to understand, but you might still get something out of it.

The breed of your dog also has a lot to do with this as it can be inherited. Age also plays a huge part in this.

So read this sites and if you have anymore questions feel free to ask again or you might want to write to Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf in here. He is a veterinarian and he is available right now.

http://www.northwestanimaleye.com/Corneal_Lipidosis.html

http://www.justanswer.com/questions/2l2xj-what-is-lipid-keratopathy