# Upper Eyelid Torn, Eyeball Exposed



## lenallen (Mar 25, 2009)

A few days ago I discovered my 3-yr old wether had torn his eyelid a couple days before (based on bits of dried blood etc). Been injecting penicillan twice daily. Waiting for scab to fall off then see how bad, maybe need stitch or two. Then it started looking worse this morning. The torn triangle of flesh is curling away from the eye, pulling the remaining eyelid-margin away from the eyeball. I intend to take goat in for stitches Monday first thing. Right now, want to apply some moisturizing ointment to the exposed eyeball where blinking is surely not effective enough to moisten eyeball. Any advice what kind of ointment to apply? Any over the counter human ointment, in case I can't find animal product? Thanks. Lee in Black Hills.
Here are close-up pics
http://www.over-the-hills.com/Gallery/t ... 20Copy.JPG
http://www.over-the-hills.com/Gallery/t ... 20Copy.JPG


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

Hi There, 
In my experience with injuries such as this one the best ointment for the eye itself is oliveoil. Unfortunately it looks like it might be too late to have the tear stiched. With most lacerations that require stiching, the policy is, the sooner the better. Once the wound has started to heal/scab there has already been scar and reconnective tissue formed. Your vet might tell you the same, however a second opinion never hurts. 
If that were my goat and I couldn't get the stitches in time, I would forego taking the risk of retearing the lid, and scraping the goats retna with stiches. I would use Neosporin on the wound itself and olive oil on the eye to prevent dirt and debris from getting in the eye while the lid is not in proper working order. If you have a stall, you can bandage the eye and leave him in it. But just becareful, this could cause more harm than good if your inexperienced at bandaging or if there are other goats to play with the patch. If the lid is not sitting comfortably when you bandage it, your goat will be terribly uncomfortable.

At this stage in the healing, I suggest Neosporin, oliveoil and air. The lid may never be perfect, but it looks like it should heal pretty good. If you think a butterfly tape to pull the two sides together would help, its worth a shot. It may not stay though.

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## lenallen (Mar 25, 2009)

Harney the goat is ok.

Luckily in this ranching area, I found a large-animal vet who was sensitive to _caring _for an animal, experienced in eyelid surgery, willing to squeeze us in to his busy schedule, and very inexpensive!

He placed a thin disk of metal about size of a quarter under the eyelid as a backstop, then with a scalpel cut away the somewhat-healed torn surfaces from the cut. Having 'freshened' the flesh thus, he then placed about 4 stitches, being careful not to place thread on the underside of the eyelid (which would scratch the eyeball). There were three assistants helping the vet during the minor surgery. The goat's eye right away looks a lot better.

The most complex part was getting the goat to come back around after the general anethesia. They gave two come-back shots, but it still took 4-6 hours of dopiness to come back. It was over an hour before the goat could stand. To protect the goat I placed him in an isolation pen for about 8 hours.

TOday the goat seems completely normal. The stitches will biodegrade. The doc said a full recovery is expected. It was very well worth the 90 minute drive. If you're ever near Belle Fourche, SD, I highly recommend this vet clinic. They have three vets and lots of technicians.

Total bill: $56


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

Wow! $56.... wish I lived closer.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

I could fly the goat to SD for those rates. ... If goats could fly of course ;-)


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