Good question! Ophthalmology is the discipline concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. Here at PetVISION, we are solely pet focused and only treat ophthalmic issues of dogs and cats.

We will act professionally, truthfully and courteously. We will provide a working diagnosis and explain to owners in non-scientific language, what is wrong with their pet's eye(s). We will provide a variety of options, where possible, for each individual case. We will stick to our fixed-fee surgical commitment, the only variable being post op medication(s) and hospitalisation when required. In return, we expect to be treated respectfully. We have a Zero Tolerance Policy, if faced with any abusive or threatening behaviour. We believe that everybody has a right to work in a happy environment.

PetVISION is a ‘referral only’ clinic. This is because your Primary Care veterinary surgeon’s expertise will be able to treat most pet eye problems. This will therefore save you time and money and decrease the number of veterinary visits your pet will need to make. PetVISION is here to help with unusual or challenging case management, either medically or surgically. Your veterinary surgeon will be familiar with the difficult eye case and will likely offer prompt referral. As an owner, you can ask to be referred at any stage of your pet's management. Discussing the option for referral to PetVISION with your Primary Care Veterinary surgeon is a useful way of finding out how they are feeling about your pet's eye(s).

The good news is that we have a user-friendly and prompt referral system. The fastest and most convenient way to make (or change) an appointment is via our live online booking system.

Once registered, cost estimates can also be accessed online prior to referral, for consultation and common ophthalmic surgeries at your convenience. We can also organise appointments by phone – call 1300 EYE GUY (1300 393 489) to get in touch.

To ensure the best outcome possible, we prioritise eye critical cases (even when fully booked).

These emergencies are highly likely to be seen on the same day during the working week, following a referral before 5pm. During out of hours periods, referral is most common after consultation from an emergency veterinary surgeon.

Life is busy for all our clients and we don’t like running late, however it is sometimes unavoidable. Veterinary ophthalmology is similar in many ways to a human Emergency Department in terms of unpredictable patient urgency. Certain eye conditions require surgical intervention within hours of assessment to maximise the chances of success. This means that a veterinary eye surgeon has to be prepared to move from consultation to surgery to re-visits and post op checks with flexibility. Dr Guy will be doing all he can to keep to time and inform clients of any delays, especially if the wait time is longer than 15 minutes. We will do our best to inform and update clients regularly with any changes to their booked time-slot. For non-urgent appointments that have not yet started their journey to us, you may receive a phone call to reschedule to the next working day where possible.

Absolutely! Please let us know if you plan to do this or if an unavoidable consultation delay > 15mins has occurred. We are happy to admit a pet to be assessed later in the day at no additional boarding charge. Dr Guy will then relay his findings (examination, working diagnosis and treatment options with costs) via text and email. Where appropriate, consent forms can be signed digitally, and costs settled electronically.

We understand that you would like to be updated as soon as possible about your beloved pet. PetVISION works in partnership with Aura Veterinary Hospital (AVH), which performs emergency and elective surgeries on a daily basis. All attempts are made to run to the planned operating list, however some events outside our control may alter the day’s proceedings. From the time you drop off your pet, it is usually a period of 8 hours before Dr Guy will text you with a surgical update.

Please note that discharge times are in 5mins intervals after 6pm. Discharge is dependent on an individual pet’s anaesthetic recovery and your pet’s wellbeing will be the centre of any recommendation for a hospitalisation stay. Currently, overnight stays will involve the transportation of your pet to an Emergency 24/7 facility. There are 2 such facilities within 20mins drive and you will be advised accordingly if your pet requires hospitalisation.

Yes, we understand that some pet owners may wish to seek a second opinion. We encourage and respect this right and will facilitate the transfer of any relevant data to a nominated veterinary practice. In turn, we also reserve the right to request that an owner seeks a second opinion in some cases.

Our amazing clients come from far and wide! Although we are based on the Sunshine Coast, we help pets across Queensland from Brisbane and Wide Bay to Emerald and Cairns, then all the way back down along the coast.

In house pre-op bloods are available for owners wanting a check on their pet's bloodwork assessment status prior to an anaesthetic. Pre-op bloods are particularly recommended for 'at risk' patients and patients with co-morbidities (certain health issues other than the eye). Older pets are more likely to have health issues compared to younger pets. Patients that are 10 years and older are considered 'at-risk' in most breeds, but from 6 years old in Giant breeds. Pre-op bloods allow an assessment of: hydration status; inflammation; probability of infection; anaemia; kidney; liver; gall bladder and pancreatic function. Our pre-op blood screen is termend: MBA & CBC and costs $300.

Pre-op bloods can flag potential concerns prior to administering an anaesthetic, so we can ensure the right surgical plan is in place. The tests are also very useful in the extremely rare event that anaesthetic recovery is not routine. In these situations a second blood sample (post-op bloods) is taken (after discussion with an owner). Having pre-op bloods allows a meaningful comparison. Without the pre-op bloods, it is very difficult to know the effect on the internal organs that the anaesthetic has caused, as evidenced by the post-op bloods.

Your pet is in very safe hands. All patients receive an individual anaesthetic plan based on their age, breed, procedure and anticipated anaesthetic time.

1. A balanced anaesthetic protocol involves pre-op assessment, premedication prior to the anaesthetic, induction of anaesthesia, maintenance of anaesthesia and multi-modal pain relief.

2. All patients (for procedures >5mins) will receive intravenous fluid therapy (IVFT) i.e. they will be placed on a drip. IVFT provides support to the cardiovascular system and facilitates easy administration of additional intravenous medication as required.

3. We monitor the electrical activity of the heart (ECG), oxygen levels in the blood (SPO2), carbon dioxide levels in the expired air (ET CO2), heart rate, blood pressure and temperature to gain a valuable insight into how an anaesthetic is progressing. Most procedures are under 90 minutes per eye and often under 15 minutes. We deliver the same standard of care regardless of anaesthetic length.

A modern, balanced anaesthetic approach optimises the safety for your pet while they are having surgery. In spite of this, there is still some risk involved. Prior to any anaesthetic a pet owner is required to sign their understanding that all anaesthetic procedures carry the risk that a pet may not wake up or may not recover enough to go home. PetVISION uses the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grading scheme to try and identify and inform owners of likely anaesthetic risk prior to their pet undergoing an anaesthetic. The ASA system has allowed statistical analysis with respect to mortality in dogs. Grades I & II patients (healthy) have a 0.12% mortality i.e. 12 deaths per 10,000 anaesthetics, whereas Grades III, IV & V 4.77 i.e. over 4 cases per 100 anaesthetics. Click here [...] to view the ASA Grading Scale

The comfort of your pet is a top priority for us. We believe that minimising pain is best undertaken with a multi-modal approach. This can involve: the administration of local anaesthetic; opioid painkillers; opioid slow-release patches; non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID); gabapentin and paracetamol.

Preventing self-trauma is very important for any surgical procedure, but especially for a structure as delicate as the eye and eyelids. E-Collars are the best way to minimise the risk of self-trauma and we recommend using one whenever a pet isn’t under direct supervision. The recommended size for an E-Collar is 1.5x the length from the forwards point of the shoulder to the tip of the nose.

The length of time that an E-Collar is required depends on each pet and their recovery. We recommend removing the E-Collar in a supervised and transitional approach. Signs of self-trauma would necessitate its re-use.

View this handy guide to learn how to make-up an E-Collar, alter the size and take it on and off your pet.

Drops or ointments are likely to be prescribed for the post-op period and a dosing schedule will be provided as part of a pet’s discharge instructions, together with any oral medications.

View this reference for advice on how to administer eye drops and ointments.

View this reference for advice on how to administer oral medication – tablets, capsules and syrups.

View this reference for advice on how to manage an opioid patch.

As many clients travel long distances to see us at PetVISION, post op photographs are a really effective way to ‘distance-manage’ their pet’s case.

How to take a correct photo:

It is best to take a photo in the dark, with the flash and the camera at the same height as the eye. Your pet’s eye(s) may need to be held open while the photograph is being taken.

Photos can be emailed to us at postopphoto@petvision.com.au or by logging into our website and sending via the client portal.

A POC is typically organised within 2 to 5 days of surgery and is usually a very short consultation (5mins). This is what you want and very much the normal situation! That's because everything, typically, is going as expected. At the first POC, Dr Guy will show you how to bathe the eye to remove any discharge and keep it clean. POC typically are from 6pm to 6:25pm, most working days.

A POC is a great opportunity to discuss how a pet has coped when transitioning from our hospital setting to back home. Please mention any concerns to Dr Guy during this consultation so the right solution can be found promptly.

A permanent suture requiring removal is typically used to hold a third eyelid flap (TEF) in place. TEF suture removal is performed 14-17d after the surgical date. It is advisable to bring patients in starved, just in case sedation is required to remove it.

Virtually all other surgical wounds are closed with dissolving suture material. At the cornea dissolution may involve the 'in-growth' of blood vessels and Dr Guy will discuss this at Post Op Checks. When the skin is closed 'internally' sutures are placed 'under the skin' to bring the wound edges to the desired position. Sutures that are used to close a skin wound have a 0.9% complication rate (which is usually an infection associated with the suture material). This generally occurs several weeks after a surgical procedure and often happens due to infection at the site of the surgical knot. The suture material at the surgical knot is twice as thick as everywhere else and therefore doesn’t dissolve as quickly. As a result the knot is vulnerable to infection. The good news is that once the knot has been found and removed together with any other, yet to dissolve, suture material, the wound heals quickly with supportive treatment. Supportive treatment includes bathing and antibiotics (oral, topical or both).

If you are concerned about the possibility of infection or you would like Dr Guy to re-check a wound, please make an appointment and bring your pet in starved. Dr Guy will check the wound and provide a solution as required.

Povidone Iodine (e.g. BETADINE) is an excellent topical antibacterial agent that is commonly available, but it needs to be diluted. It can generally be bought as a 10% or 1% solution. Please note it is important to buy the solution, NOT THE SCRUB (scrub contains a soaping agent and is undesirable as an eye wash).

If you purchase the 10% solution, the best approach is to first make a 1% solution. This is achieved by mixing 1 part of the 10% Povidone Iodine to 9 parts cooled, boiled water (i.e. 0.5ml to 4.5ml or 1 ml to 9 ml or 10ml to 90ml) or 1 teaspoon of iodine to 9 teaspoons of cooled, boiled water.

Once you have a 1% solution, it is then diluted with water in 1 part to 19 parts cooled, boiled water (i.e. 0.5ml to 9.5ml or 1ml to 19 ml or 10ml to 190ml). Or 1 teaspoon of 1% Povidone iodine with 19 teaspoons of cooled, boiled water.

Povidone Iodine exerts its powerful anti-pathogen action as a result of contact time at the site of administration. It is important to leave the 0.05% solution in contact with the skin, cornea or conjunctiva for 5 minutes. It may need to be re-applied several times to achieve the desired contact time.

Paracetamol has been found to be effective in helping control post-op pain in dogs. The amount of paracetamol safe to give your pet is dependent on their weight and derived from the formula: paracetamol dose = 10mg/kg q 12h. This means that if you take your pet’s weight and times it by 10, that’s how many milligrams (mg) of paracetamol you can give twice daily (i.e. a 12.5kg dog can receive 125mg of paracetamol twice per day).

A standard human paracetamol tablet contains 500mg of paracetamol, therefore the 12.5kg dog would need 500/125 = ¼ tablet twice per day.

Paracetamol can also be purchased as an oral suspension. However, the formulation strength varies. The strength purchased will affect the amount given. Common formulations (strengths) are: 40mg per ml; 48mg per ml and 50mg/ml. Using our 12.5kg as the example, a dog still needs 12.5 x10 = 125mg (the dosing requirement doesn’t change). This can be achieved by giving 125/40 = 3.1ml of the 40mg/ml solution or 125/48 = 2.6ml of the 48mg/ml solution or 125/50 = 2.5ml of the 50 mg/ml solution. You can view this handy chart with dosing options for varying weights of dogs.