The Eye Specialist for Animals

23/02/2024

L👀K! A Swan waltz in for an eye check! After much flapping and struggling, thanks to our nurse Aydan for holding, she finally settled down to be examined with much grace and poise.
She thanked us with a big watery p**p and off she went!

31/12/2023

We are very proud to announce that from 2nd January 2024, Dr Jelisa Lin will be commencing a formal residency program in veterinary ophthalmology with the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. We will like to congratulate her on her talent, hardwork and determination that got her the residency position. The residency is not a walk in a park but we believe Dr Jelisa Lin will be able to complete the stringent requirements and become an eye specialist!

A little biography of Dr Jelisa:
Jelisa graduated with honours from the University of Queensland in 2014. Following graduation, she has worked in a small animal general practice clinic for 7 years prior to returning to Singapore. Throughout university and practice, she has always felt drawn to the study of ophthalmology in all animals, big and small. She has completed a year-long post-graduate certificate in veterinary ophthalmology offered by the University of Sydney in 2022 and in the same year also finished her internship with Dr Gladys Boo at The Eye Specialist For Animals. In 2023, she also participated in an “Intraocular Surgery for Advance Surgeons” course in Henningdorf, Germany.

She is excited to be undertaking a formal residency in ophthalmology with The Eye Specialist For Animals through the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologist and continue to learn and develop her capabilities within this field and hone her skills in microsurgery.

Outside of work, she spends most of the time with exploring outdoors with her family and senior golden retriever.

26/12/2023

This is a 14 year old tortoiseshell cat. Her owner noticed something in the eye. And the eye was red and squinting.
Any ideas what this is?

15/09/2023

This senior dog came to us because of a swollen right eye. In these 2 pictures, can you see that the eyeball is pushed to the right side of the face? The third eyelid is also more red and prominent.
There is a tumour growing in the right side of his face and we can physically palpate bumpy changes on the bone around his eye orbit and nose.
This case will need a CT scan+/- biopsy to diagnose the extent and type of neoplasia and to further evaluate his prognosis.
The eye itself is still functional! Depending on the extent and type of neoplasia, radiation therapy +/- chemotherapy are potential therapies for this condition. If your pet has a red or prominent third eyelid, they can sometimes be really serious! It is important to see an ophthalmologist for an accurate assessment!

12/09/2023

Meet Husband and wife, Butter and Vanilla! Butter flew here from Indonesia to have cataract surgery done. It was a huge leap of faith for the owner to make this journey, taking a flight from Indonesia, booking quarantine, getting import permits...etc all in the hopes of regaining sight for Butter. For such a long trip, his wife had to come along to make sure everything goes well for her husband! ❤️ true corgi love!

We are glad to report that everything went well and we had quite a few post operative checks before Butter flew back to Indonesia. Check out their reel in the story!

25/08/2023

This young ragdoll woke up with a cloudy eye and the owners were worried!
This condition is called lipid laden aqueous (which means fat with the aqueous humor of the eye). This is usually associated with high dietary fat content.

It is important to see an ophthalmologist to get the right diagnosis because it could easily be confused with uveitis which could potentially have other more serious implications..

06/08/2023

Now you see it, now you don't!
There is a mass growing on this eye for about 1 year. Their general practice vet has been treating it with eye drops but the mass grew from a small one to something so big.
There were a few possibilities of the types of cancer that can grow on the eye. This was a corneal squamous cell carcinoma. We had to make a large excision with ample margins to ensure that it was completely removed (swipe to 👀). And it was revealed by histopathology that we had clear margins.
Luckily it was not a tumour that is likely to metastasis to other parts of the body nor recur frequently once completely excised.

It is incredibly important to excise a mass while it is small and when it is first observed. Large surgical defect means that there is a great area of scarring that could also affect vision later. When a tumour is allow to grow uncontrolled, its behaviour is less predictable and if highly malignant, could not just rob the eye of vision, but rob the patient of its life/ quality of life.

09/07/2023

This dog has developed vision loss in this eye. Can you see what is the cause of his vision loss?

14/03/2023

This is why we love what we do. Vision makes such a huge difference to the quality of life of animals!

21/02/2023

16/01/2023

A recent review has prompted us to start this post on uveitis!
Australian Veterinary Practitioner Vol 52 (1) March 2022
This case reported by Dr Boo detailed how this cat was first presented to the eye specialist for yellow "pus/ plaques" in the eyes. Upon further blood tests, and ultrasound scans, this cat was found to have ureteral stones and very abnormal kidneys.
The eyes are a complex organ but it is also part of the entire biological system of the body. In cases of uveitis, we have to run tests to find out what the underlying cause is. Otherwise, we may not be able to resolve the problem if we are not directing the treatment at the root cause.
In some cases, after ruling out specific causes, we may be dealing with an autoimmune disorder for which we may need long term medications.
In cases of uveitis, there is no quick fixes. And we have to be thorough in order to ensure the patient's well-being is taken care of.

More posts to come with interesting cases! 👀

11/01/2023

We’re hiring!

We are looking for veterinary technicians/ nurses to join our little team. We are a dedicated veterinary ophthalmology specialist clinic providing the highest level of care, dedicating ourselves to save vision.

If you are keen to know more or know someone that is suitable for this job position, please send your CV or enquiries to [email protected]

09/01/2023

Back with a post and a bang! Happy New year everyone! This lucky cat had a eye surgery 9 months ago.
Can anyone guess what was done and what the cat had to warrant this surgery?

23/12/2022

The Eye Specialist for Animals would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas break:
23rd Dec - closed
24th Dec - closed
25th Dec - closed
26th Dec - closed

The team will be back at work on 27th December full steam ahead.

Our eye specialist, Dr Boo, is on call for any ocular emergency on a call out basis. If there is an emergency, please present your pet to your regular vet or Beecroft Emergency. The Beecroft emergency vet will then contact our specialist if they have diagnosed that it needs immediate attention by our eye specialist.

11/12/2022

One of the most important post operative care factor after eye surgery is keeping the patient calm.

Our nurses are highly sensitive to our patients' needs and do their best to achieve that. Sometimes it consists of constant cuddling or in this case, a pet carrier strapped to our nurse to keep them calm.

Our nurses and receptionists are an integral part of any veterinary practice. At TESA, when the patient does well, it really takes our entire team's efforts to make it work!

12/11/2022

This new post hopes to address the many questions in people's minds about cataracts in dogs. We strive to educate our clients about what is going on in their pets' eyes but sometimes pet owners cannot understand what they haven't experienced yet. One thing is for sure, we aim to provide gold standard eye care for pets. Hence, we started this Instagram account for education purposes.

Cataracts are not usually a benign condition in pets' eyes. The following images are a daily event in our clinic of pets with long standing cataracts and are no longer good candidates for cataract surgery.

In the first picture, there are blood vessels on the top left hand of the cornea and little black spots on the bottom right of the cornea. This eye is chronically inflamed from having cataracts and likely to have long term complications after cataract surgery.

In the second picture, the eye is filled with blood due to long standing cataracts and lens-induced uveitis subsequently leading to retinal detachment. This eye will never regain vision again. Sadly, the owner believed that Lanosterol eye drops could dissolve the cataracts and has been using it for 2 years. The cataracts never went away but indirectly led to irreparable damage to the eye.

In the third picture, the eye has a cataract but also black pigment covering 50% of the cornea. This is the contralateral eye to the second picture. The cornea was unhealthy because of concurrent dry eye. The owner has been using a particular eye drop as a lubricant but hasn't been treating the root cause of dry eye. The cornea is too unhealthy and the cataracts too advanced to safely recommend cataract surgery compared to 2 years ago if the cataracts and dry eye have been treated appropriately.

In the fourth picture, the cataract and long standing uveitis has led to the dislocation of the lens (see the lens is actually at the bottom of the eye like a setting sun) and secondary retinal detachment (see the blood on the top 1/4 of the back of the eye). This eye can never see again.

It is important to get ophthalmic assessment and advice for your pets' eyes in early stages of disease.

14/10/2022

Happy vet nurse's day! In any veterinary clinic or hospital, caring for your pets is impossible without our veterinary nurses.

They are the ones working behind the scenes as well as caring for the pets and clients to make sure that the visit is a pleasant one.

The nurse's role is not an easy one and sometimes overlooked by clients. Sometimes clients verbally abuse our vet nurses as a displaced angry behaviour - long waiting times or stress/ anxiety about their pets.

Our vet nurses are an empathetic bunch and do their best in their work. When you see your vet nurses, thank them and ask them about their day! I'm sure it will brighten up their day.

13/10/2022

Announcement! Today marks the last day of our ophthalmology service in 991E Alexandra Road, #01-27!

The Eye Specialist for Animals (TESA) have moved to 299 Tanjong Katong Road. The practice will start operations on Monday 17th October 2022. We are very excited to continue providing gold standard ophthalmology service to pets in Singapore.

The new phone number to call to make appointments is 6241 2011. We are open from 8am to 6pm Mondays to Thursdays. From Fridays to Sundays, the clinic is not open. Any out of hours emergencies are to be directed to Beecroft emergency and critical care team.

We are usually fully booked in advance however, we do try our best to fit in any urgent/ emergency cases during our work hours.

There is an open air carpark with ample parking spaces right behind the new practice and lots of street parking too.

13/10/2022

16/08/2022

The Eye Specialist for Animals (TESA) is seeking a motivated veterinarian to join our team on a full-time 12-month Ophthalmology internship

Ophthalmology intern – commencing January 2023

TESA is a specialist Veterinary Ophthalmology Practice. We will be working in a purpose-built specialty clinic in Katong. You will work predominantly under the guidance and mentorship of the only board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist in Singapore Dr Gladys Boo, supported by a dedicated team of experienced nurses.

About the role
The successful candidate is expected to work Monday to Thursday, as well as shared on-call duties as needed. During the course of the internship, at least one paper is expected to be written and submitted for publication into a suitable peer reviewed journal.
Interns participate in consultations, surgery setups, anaesthesia and monitoring of patients, treatment of ophthalmology inpatients, discharging patients, preparing patients for surgeries and postoperative care and recovery, client communication and engage in self-learning such as attending continuing development lectures and reading of books and journals.
This 12-month internship commencing Jan 2023 offers an outstanding opportunity for a highly motivated, hardworking, experienced and professional individual to work and learn in a busy and friendly referral ophthalmology team. It provides the perfect springboard for individuals wishing to pursue future specialist training in ophthalmology or to simply expand their knowledge and experience for general practice.

About you
Candidates must be eligible for veterinary registration in Singapore, possess excellent communication skills and a strong knowledge base on which to build. At least one to two years of clinical experience is preferred.
Demonstrated interest in Veterinary Ophthalmology is a must.
Enthusiasm, good communication skills and time management will be essential in a successful candidate.

What TESA offers
We are a very busy practice but also strive to support our staff tremendously. We provide gold standard practice and specialist procedures that are not available anywhere else in Singapore. This position has the potential to evolve into a residency training program in veterinary ophthalmology at the end of the internship, for the right candidate. This is not a guaranteed progression, and will depend on multiple factors, including some of the qualities mentioned above.

To apply, please send your cover letter and resume to [email protected]. Your application should state the reasons for seeking the internship and the name and contact details of three referees.

09/08/2022

Happy National day! The Eye Specialist for Animals had been flat out trying our best to treat many animals' eyes and we finally have time to catch a breath on a public holiday!

We see eyelid masses frequently and this one takes the cake! Many owners choose to leave small eyelid masses alone because "they have been there for many years, its not doing anything" or "it's small, it's not bothering my dog" or " I have been told to wait for it to get bigger"

Here's a few points that may not be obvious to owners....
1. Most of these masses are benign (meaning they are unlikely to spread to other parts of the body and cause death) BUT they can be locally invasive and destroy the normal architecture and function of eyelids. They can also cause ulcerations on the cornea (this case had a very deep ulcer) and potentially cause an eye rupture.

2. Eyelids have extremely important functions such as blinking, keeping moisture on the corneas, protecting your eye from external insults!

3. Eyelid mass removals are much more straightforward when small than when they are large like in the images - longer GA (more risks), more destruction of the normal eyelids and may not be able to preserve blinking function = potentially need more post surgical interventions.

So.... the moral of the story is... don't wait! Nothing good comes out of waiting when it comes to eyelid masses!

*swipe left for the post surgical result*

16/06/2022

It has come to our attention that a social media post is circulating around with content that is critical of our practice. The post only offers a one-sided account and contains defamatory statements. There is also medical misinformation in the post and we hope that clients continue to seek veterinary advice for their pets.

There are two sides to every story. We have written a public statement to clarify the facts. This is not uncommon in our veterinary industry. We hope this sheds some light on current issues in the veterinary clinic on a daily basis. Thank you for taking your time to read this.

16/05/2022

The team has been working tirelessly to save eyes daily. We get almost 3 emergency cases on a daily basis! Many cases are referred at an advanced stage when clinical signs are difficult to reverse.

These 2 pictures show a full thickness corneal perforation and the tissue inside the eye (known as iris) is protruding out of the perforation (black mass) as the intraocular fluid has already leaked out.

The eye is a delicate organ with little room for error. Please see your general practice Veterinarian as soon as you notice an eye problem with your little furchild. By the time eye problems are obvious to the owner's naked eye, they may have been around for a while. Even signs as mild as redness can brew a huge problem, for example glaucoma (which is an ocular emergency!)

16/05/2022

It's been a long time since our last post yet again! We have been meaning to post Fish's eye in a dramatic before and after photo. Fish is a beautiful exotic short-haired cat who had a black plaque on the right cornea. This is known as a corneal sequestrum. In this case, the cornea was close to being perforated. It is important that eye conditions aren't left too late.

The eye doesn't have a lot of room for error and everything about an eye need to be perfect for perfect vision. Swipe right to see the post operative result!

Even if eyes are perforated, Dr Boo may be able to still save some of these 👀!

26/03/2022

Eyelid agenesis is a condition that a veterinary ophthalmologist most commonly see in cats! The outer 3/4s of the eyelids are missing in this cat (see first 2 pictures). As a result, the normal fur and lash hairs from the inner 1/4 of the eyelids were always rubbing on the cornea (front clear part of the eye), causing irritation (imagine your eyelash rubbing on your eyeball daily, every minute). Even if the hairs were shaved off, the cornea doesn't have a lid covering when she sleeps so a part of her eyes were always exposed to the environment.

We performed major reconstructive surgery to her face to give her new replacement eyelids! Swipe to see 👀
She is a lot more comfortable and no longer has cloudy corneas! Her mum says that her eyes close completely when she sleeps now too!

Thank you for managing this case with us!! It takes a whole team to have a successful outcome.

02/03/2022

Ever wondered if Dr Boo operates on species other than cats and dogs?

The day finally came when our beautiful macaw (from the previous post) underwent cataract surgery on the left eye! Here is bird's eye view (pun intended)

Swipe left to see the bird 1 week after cataract surgery! It was not as easy to approach him anymore because he could see! Notice that he turns his beak to the right side so he can use his eye to look at the camera?

This owner is so dedicated to this boy and the bond between the pair was apparent. The owner reported that the macaw used to not move when placed in the middle of the room but now he follows the owner everywhere and is also more vocal! Vision really gives animals quality of life.

Hence our slogan "Save vision, Save lives".

Follow us on our ig The Eye Specialist for Animals [https://www.instagram.com/singaporeeyevet/]

27/02/2022

Shelties galore!!!! We had the pleasure of checking these pupper-wuppers for any congenital anomalies. These puppers get an CAER certificate to prove that they are completely normal!

The purpose of the OFA Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) is to provide breeders with information regarding canine eye diseases so that they may make informed breeding decisions in an effort to produce healthier dogs. CAER certifications will be performed by board certified (ACVO) veterinary ophthalmologists.

Dr Gladys Boo is the only board certified ophthalmologist who can certify these puppies in Singapore.

11/02/2022

Ding d**g dang! We have a little guinea pig who has come to see us with an eye problem...
There is white material in the eye. This is actually bone!
It is suspected to be associated with vitamin C supplementation (which is very important for this species to prevent scurvy). Ascorbic acid concentrates in the aqueous humor in this species. The working theory is that ascorbic acid stimulated bone formation in the presence of rich blood supply.
Despite how it looks, most eyes remain comfortable and healthy.

30/01/2022

From previous post! Yes lens luxation! The lens was almost completely dislocated out of its original position and bouncing around, hitting against the Iris. That in turn cause the patient some discomfort in his eye causing the third eyelid to come upwards.

If untreated, lens luxation often cause glaucoma and/or retinal detachments which might in turn lead to irreparable blindness.

Dr Boo performed surgery to remove the lens, whilst keeping the eye stable! We also sutured a lens in place for this patient to achieve emmetropia (not seen in video).

Eye surgery requires microsurgical skills and stringent training. There are many intraoperative maneuvers board-certified ophthalmologists learn perform during their training to achieve long term surgical success.