Does anyone have knowledge of this kind of eye surgery?

Abby is one of my parents' three cats, a former feral who has come a long, long way under my mom's care. She's four years old, and we love her dearly. About a year ago, we noticed that her left eye had begun to water constantly, and this was causing a raw spot on her cheek that we know must be painful to her.

The vet said that the duct that normally allows tears to drain into Abby's nose is apparently blocked, so the tears spill out onto her cheek instead. She said there's a very delicate surgery that might or might not unblock the duct. If she does the surgery, she will also (while she's at it) want to take a tuck in a tiny triangular patch of skin near the inner corners of Abby's eyes to prevent a common problem in which the eyelashes turn inward against the eye.

Does anyone have any experience with this surgery? It's going to run about $900, and that's a fortune to us. Before we take out a loan to do it, we want to be sure that it has a reasonable chance of success, that it's safe for Abby, and that there isn't some other approach that might be better for her.

Thank you for anything you can tell us!

The only suggestion I have would be to find out if there are any veterinary opthomologists in your area before going ahead with the surgery. We have a dog who had the condition where the eyelashes turn inward and we had surgery done by a "regular" vet. It didn't take care of the problem 100% and to this day I regret not consulting a specialist. Good luck to you and your baby !

If $900 is a fortune you will FREAK when you see the specialist price!!! LOL We have done procedures like this before at our clinic and 90% have had no probs after surgery (we do have a great surgon though).

I would ask about alternatives though. If you can't afford one thing there are usually other ways to go about fixing a problem.

Good luck to your lil baby

I do know about a specialist in eye surgery here in spain, and know the money you spend is well spent (if there is any problem they normally don't charge you again). But the truth is I've never heard of a problem like your kitty's.

You could consult a specialist on line, maybe they can help you out.