Enucleated socket with recurring fluid build up

Warning:  This is kinda gross.  Sorry!

Hi everyone,

My cat's eye was enucleated 3 years ago due to herpes virus damage (chronic anterior uveitis and a luxated lens).  We opted not to insert an implant so it was sewn shut and sunken.  About a year went by with no problems, then it swelled up with fluid which they confirmed was a bacterial infection.  He has had half a dozen since, all treated with antibiotics.  Then the vet suggested that an implant should keep fluids from pooling plus they wanted to clean the socket really well to ensure there was no leftover tissue causing the infection.  The implant surgery was done in early July 2014.

For the first few weeks he had a small amount of clear drainage from the inner corner and no build up.  Last weekend I noticed it was bulging and it worsened over several days.  The vet drained it yesterday and removed a couple ounces of greenish goo (looked like snot), but there was no trace of bacteria and no foul odor.  He concluded it was not infected and said the fluid was most likely caseous protein (?), but does not know how to troubleshoot or fix the underlying issue.  I am planning to take him to the ophthalmologist next time it fills up to see if they have any suggestions, but I'd like to know if anyone else has had a similar experience.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,

dd

Just bumping this thread to see if anyone else is familiar with this.

Definitely think it's a good idea to see a cat ophthamologist though.  I'm kind of surprised your Vet has consulted one to discuss, since he isn't familiar with the issue.

Hi all.  Just wanted to provide a follow up on this thread.  We visited the ophthalmologist yesterday and she was very familiar with this issue.  It is related to the presence of conjunctival tissue that is left in the socket which creates a cyst when the cat has a herpes flair up.  That is what creates the mucus with no presence of infection.  However that mucus can get infected when bacteria is introduced which is why we see intermittent infections.  And while we could just continue to drain the fluids regularly (not thrilled with that whole idea), if the needle passes bacteria into the socket during that procedure, he'll just get another infection.

She said the tissue was probably missed because it is very difficult to distinguish between conjunctival tissue and subcutaneous tissue.  So someone who is not a specialist in this field might leave that behind.  For now we are going to increase lysine to try to avoid herpes flair ups, but the permanent fix will be to have another operation where she can remove that tissue.  She says she has never had a cat return with fluid problems after she removes the tissue and is 99% sure this would be a permanent fix to the problem.  Will let you know if anything changes!

Hope everything works out for you.