Lecture 1:     Testing and Treating Feline herpesvirus

Whether you are dealing with individual cats or helping a local humane shelter, feline herpesvirus is something you need the latest information on. Is there a good PCR test? Should I be submitting samples? Should I use a topical or systemic antiviral drug? How frequently?  For how long? Do I also need to use antibiotics?  Is lysine effective? Do I need to quarantine affected cats? We will address all of these questions in a logical fashion choosing only the clinically relevant material from all of the latest research.

Lecture 2:     My Approach to Non-healing Corneal Ulcers

When an ulcer hasn’t healed at the first recheck, there is a tendency to throw up our arms and become frustrated.  A few golden rules can help us to see that ulcers within this group have actually helped us out in some ways by identifying themselves as “complicated ulcers” with only one of only 2-3 causes still possible. This discussion will provide a logical approach to turning these potentially frustrating cases into medical success stories.

Lecture 3:     Dry Eye in Dogs – What do I do when cyclosporine does not work?

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), or “dry eye”, is a common disease of dogs that, since the introduction of cyclosporine, is usually relatively easily managed. We will discuss routine management of KCS during this lecture but then emphasize those patients where cyclosporine (alone) seems relatively ineffective. How are they best diagnosed? What are the potential causes of such cases? Are all cases of dry eye due to aqueous deficiency only? And what is the latest in therapy?

Lecture 4:     Unraveling Uveitis in Small Animals 

 After diagnosing a dog or cat with uveitis, the practitioner is presented with two concurrent challenges; to determine the cause (if possible), and to suppress intraocular inflammation and mitigate uveitis’ potentially blinding complications. In some cases, the cause of uveitis may be obvious (i.e. following trauma), but in many cases, the ophthalmic manifestations are ambiguous and difficult to interpret. This discussion seeks to demystify the approach to clinical diagnosis of uveitis in small animals, and to untangle guidelines for treatment, management, and formulating a prognosis.

Lecture 5:     Under Pressure: Getting a Grip on Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the most frustrating ophthalmic diseases to manage and treat in veterinary medicine, causing not only pain for affected animals, but the inevitable consequence of irreversible blindness without swift treatment. Furthermore, determination of an underlying cause and formulation of a treatment plan can be confusing at least partially due to the large number of available topical and systemic drugs. This in-depth look at glaucoma seeks to provide the small animal practitioner with a practical perspective on tonometry and diagnosis of glaucoma, current standards and best practices for treatment in dogs and cats, and how to approach prognosis in affected animals.