# Pannus



## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Hey All, 

Thought I would post this here. 
Took Jesea in to be CERF tested and she has Pannus, that affects the third eyelid....so she will be on Prednisolone eyedrops plus other treatments as needed for the rest of her life. 

Have to say that I am glad she did not take on her breedings...I would have been ILL. In fact I am still a bit devastated by this blow. 

It should not affect her working ability, for a while anyway, and she is scheduled to be altered. With three intact males, I do not want to take any chances of accidents. (I run a tight ship when it comes to this, but with my luck lately.....ugh)

*If anyone has any info to share about Pannus I would greatly appreciate it.* I am corresponding with another gal who is a vet and her mal has Pannus as well, so she is extremely helpful. 

For those that wonder, Jesea was taken to Dr. Roberts out of FT Collins, CO and he is a board certified opthamologist....

Sooooo, the search is on for a new girl that has the correct drive and temperament for SAR work and that hopefully will be a great prospect for breeding.


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

I am so sorry to hear this Carol.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

I'm sorry to hear about that, Carol. We covered it very briefly in pathology last semester (haven't had a ton of ophthalmology yet) and it's most common in German shepherds, but can affect other breeds too. If I recall, they slowly start to lose vision from the periphery and working its way in. Here's what the Merck Manual has to say about it:



> Pannus or Uberreiter’s disease is a specific, bilateral, progressive, proliferative, chronic, superficial keratitis that begins laterally at the limbus and eventually extends from all quadrants to cover the cornea. It is common in German Shepherds, Belgian Tervurens, Border Collies, Greyhounds, Siberian Huskies, and Australian Shepherds. Specific therapy consists of topical antibiotics, antiviral or antimycotic agents when appropriate, removal of any mechanical irritants, tear replacement when deficient, and corticosteroids or cyclosporin A (or both) when immune-mediated. The latter may need to be continued indefinitely and the frequency varied depending on the response.


http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/30109.htm (the picture shown on the website was taken by the former dean of our vet med school and boarded ophthamologist)


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I just want to thank you for sharing this not fun news. 

It will allow others to learn about something they may not have know much about. I for one will be looking it up as it is only something I have heard a passing reference to. Hopefully you will get in touch with some people with some experiences to share.

Good to hear that she can keep working for the time being. 


Keep in touch re: the looking for a new pup....you know I am on the hunt too......


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## Steve Strom (May 25, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear this Carol, Good luck with everything. Jeseas in good hands.


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## Chad Byerly (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm glad that you found out, and sorry to hear that your girl has this condition.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Genetic, or environmental, that is the question for me.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Sorry to hear!


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

The vet I have been corresponding with sent me this

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2008/oct/grozdanic.shtml

and she also says that studies are showing that

*Quote
Dr. Brightman had done work with the army and working dogs a while 
back and said as far as they could tell it is not heritable. Genetic 
yes, but not heritable. He told me they tried like heck to show that 
it could be inherited but couldn't. Having said that, I personally 
would not breed a dog with pannus. Thankfully, DeeDee was never 
intended to be a breeding dog.

He also told me that altitude and UV exposure likely have nothing to 
do with it. He said most of the early work on the disease was done in 
Colorado and somehow the assumption was made at that point that 
altitude played a role. It was a case of an early finding that was 
never really proven but has still remained in people's minds. I have 
never bothered with goggles of any kind.

End Quote*

So I am still reading and shooting off emails to specialists. This is really something I want to understand and have my questions answered, which some may never be with the little they know about it right now.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

My brain is not processing very well this morning....forgot to add that this is just one opinion and I am in the process of putting a lot of information together. 

This by far, makes the most sense to me right now....but is in no way to be taken as the only information out there....


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## Mary Lehman (Oct 2, 2008)

Hi Carol. I'm sorry to hear about your pup. I have a 7 yo GSD that has Pannus as well. We live at a high altitude and he is my avalanche dog.

Two summers ago after camping for a week at over 9K feet I noticed that his eyes were 'boogery' so I put some ointment in them. They hadn't cleared up in a week so we took him to the Eye Specialist from SLC. They confirmed that it was indeed Pannus but that we had caught it very early - no visual loss.

He too is on the Cyclosporin and Neo-Poly Bac drops. We keep him out of the sun during the worst times of the day. When he goes up to the mountain with me he wears his Doggles outside. The vet suggested I get clear or yellow lenses for hiking in the mountains - summertime. The dark ones aren't good when they are in heavy vegetation. 

Someone else posted wondering if it is genetic or environmental. I would say, from my personal experience, environmental given where we live. Others will disagree. We are breeding him anyway as there is no other confirmation of existence in his lines (All West German)

It's not the end of the world and Phoenix leads a great life. I still do search work with him, but I keep a close eye on him for any changes. 6 month checkups help keep things in check as well. 

I hope this helps.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Mary Lehman said:


> Hi Carol. I'm sorry to hear about your pup. I have a 7 yo GSD that has Pannus as well. We live at a high altitude and he is my avalanche dog.
> 
> Two summers ago after camping for a week at over 9K feet I noticed that his eyes were 'boogery' so I put some ointment in them. They hadn't cleared up in a week so we took him to the Eye Specialist from SLC. They confirmed that it was indeed Pannus but that we had caught it very early - no visual loss.
> 
> ...


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

oh carol...oh Jesea. i am so sorry to hear this (was hoping you meant "panno" and thought "what? Jesea's too old for THAT"). now i'll go back and read up on it.

wonder if that could have been part of the reason she wasn't taking when bred....oh who cares, doesn't matter anyway. 

BTW, i now have a facebook account!!


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## Lisa Preston (Aug 21, 2008)

Ah, Carol, sorry to hear DeeDee has pannus.
You are such a good dog owner.
Take Care,
-Lisa


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

In the infamous words of Jeff O.....**CK**CK**CK**CK**CK**CK

Took Jesea out of her crate to take her outside and she is bloody around her eyes....thought she may have tangled with the manx cat I have when Heather took her out but she didn't. 

She is scratching her eyes. 

Will call the vet in the AM early as I am supposed to leave on my trip tomorrow. Doug can take her in if needed. 

I did not give her the drops tonight. 

And there are a couple things I have heard and want to see if anyone here has ever heard it or can verify it....

"steroids do weird shit to Mals" 

The research I did on the med she is on says it can cause behavioral changes in dogs with prolonged use....she has not been on it that long. 

Here are a couple links: 

http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/prednisone.asp

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/articles/use-of-prednisone-in-dogs.shtml

Some changes I HAVE noticed: 

she whines at night in her crate now....did not ever do before

and

when I give her a platz command, she does it with wagging tail, but then looks up and curls her lips up....almost like more of a "smile". I do not see aggression there....

Friggin Mals......LOL (not funny, but I am trying to stay positive about all this until I have something not to be positive about)


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## Michele McAtee (Apr 10, 2006)

You go ahead and be Jeff-y about it all you want!!!

I sure hope things get settled sooner than later.


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