Neapolitan Mastiff Cherry Eye

Article Author Kim Slater
Veterinarian Loris Pazzaglia DVM, Neapolitan Mastiff veterinarian of 20+ years located in Italy at Clinicia Galilei

The cherry eye, ulcerated gland of the third eyelid, is a very common Mastino problem, simple to correct, but terrifies the first time owner, due to conflicting information from their vet and experienced owners. It mostly occurs in puppies, but can 'pop up' at any age. If one eye develops this infected gland, many times the other eye will also develop shortly afterwards, so is best to wait 30 days to see if this will happen before performing surgery. In the meantime, the infected eye can be treated with antiobiotic eye drops to stop any infection spreading to the eye and surrounding tissues and also to keep the eye lubricated. Dr Loris Pazzaglia advocates removal of the infected gland in this, BUT NO OTHER BREED, due to the Mastinos unique elasticity in the tissue means that suturing back in place is rarely a success and can lead to more problems and further surgical intervention. New owners with problems could print off this forum to show their vet.
The following are step by step photographs of Dr Pazzaglia's technique on cherry eye removal :