Pet Glaucoma in Rocklin, CA
Glaucoma is a serious eye condition that can cause pain and rapid vision loss if not treated quickly. Animal Eye Center provides specialty veterinary ophthalmology care for pets with glaucoma, including diagnostic evaluation, medical pressure control, and advanced surgical options when appropriate. If your pet has been diagnosed with glaucoma—or you’re noticing sudden squinting, redness, cloudiness, or signs of eye pain—please call right away.
Serving Rocklin and Northern California
Animal Eye Center is based in Rocklin, CA, and we welcome patients from the greater Sacramento area and Northern California, including nearby communities such as Roseville, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Loomis, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Auburn, Placerville/El Dorado County, and Chico.
What Is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure, or IOP). In healthy eyes, IOP is typically below 25 mmHg. When the pressure rises significantly—often over 40 mmHg—damage to the retina and optic nerve can occur, and vision can be lost quickly, sometimes within 24 hours.
The eye continuously produces and drains a fluid called aqueous humor. Glaucoma develops when this fluid cannot drain normally, causing pressure to build.
Types of glaucoma
Glaucoma may occur as:
- Primary glaucoma: often related to an inherited abnormality of the drainage angle (how fluid exits the eye).
- Secondary glaucoma: caused by another problem within the eye that blocks fluid flow, such as inflammation, intraocular tumors, or lens luxation.
Signs glaucoma may be present
Acute glaucoma often causes sudden and noticeable changes, including:
- A bloodshot or very red eye
- A cloudy appearance to the eye
- A dilated pupil
- Squinting or holding the eye closed
- Obvious discomfort (pawing at the face, rubbing, reluctance to eat/play)
- Sudden vision changes
If your pet shows these signs, seek treatment immediately. Glaucoma can be painful and time-sensitive.
Signs Your Pet May Need Urgent Glaucoma Evaluation
Call us promptly if you notice:
- Sudden redness and cloudiness in one or both eyes
- Squinting, tearing, or signs of pain
- A pupil that looks larger than normal or doesn’t respond to light
- A swollen-looking eye or a change in eye size
- Sudden vision changes (bumping into objects, hesitation, disorientation)
- A known diagnosis of glaucoma that seems to be worsening
How We Diagnose Glaucoma
Because many eye conditions can look similar at home, diagnosis requires a specialty ophthalmic exam and pressure measurement. During a glaucoma evaluation, your pet may receive:
- Intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement to determine whether pressure is elevated
- A full ophthalmic exam to identify primary vs secondary causes
- Drainage angle assessment (when indicated) to evaluate risk and guide management
- Additional diagnostics depending on what we find (for example, if lens luxation or inflammation is suspected)
We’ll explain what the findings mean, what to do next, and whether urgent treatment is recommended.
Medical treatment for glaucoma
Medical therapy for glaucoma includes IV or oral medication to reduce the pressure in the eye quickly in hopes of restoring vision. A combination of drugs that open the drainage angle and reduce the production of aqueous humor is then used to try to keep the pressure in the normal range. Some animals will respond to medical therapy for a period of time, but eventually, medical therapy fails. Surgical treatment may be recommended for animals with the potential to retain vision.
Surgical treatment for glaucoma
There are two primary surgical treatments for glaucoma in patients who have not lost their vision. The first surgery involves placing a gonioimplant, called an Ahmed Valve, in the eye to drain aqueous humor out of the eye and into the subconjunctival space. The Ahmed valve device has a small silicon tube that is placed in the anterior chamber of the eye, allowing aqueous humor to exit the eye through a valve and across a plate that is sutured to the eye under the conjunctival tissue. These valves can keep the pressure in the eye below 12 mmHg for a period of time ranging from weeks to over a year. They eventually fail due to the formation of scar tissue over the implant. When this occurs, it is recommended to proceed with a second surgery to reduce aqueous production in the eye.
Endolaser cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) combined with phacoemulsification of the lens and an intraocular lens implant surgery can be 80% effective in the long-term management of glaucoma. When successful, it can also decrease or eliminate the use of most of the costly glaucoma medications. The endolaser procedure destroys the majority of the tissue that produces the aqueous humor, thus decreasing the amount of fluid that has to exit the eye. In some animals, the aqueous-producing tissue can regenerate, causing the IOP to increase again over time, and additional endolaser therapy is needed. ECP can also be used prophylactically on animals undergoing cataract surgery that are at risk of developing glaucoma secondary to abnormal drainage angles. Not all animals are good candidates for these procedures, and your veterinary ophthalmologist can best determine which pets will benefit from surgical therapy. Possible complications of the surgeries are intraocular bleeding, inflammation, infection, retinal detachment, and ineffective control of IOP, resulting in vision loss. However, even with the possible complications, ECP surgery is currently the best long-term treatment choice for sighted glaucomatous eyes.
Pharmacologic destruction of aqueous production with an intravitreous injection is also a surgical procedure that can reduce IOP and alleviate pain in glaucomatous eyes.
Endo Laser and Ahmed Valve Surgery
Frequently Asked Questions
Is glaucoma an emergency?
It can be. Sudden redness, cloudiness, squinting, a dilated pupil, or signs of significant eye pain can indicate acute glaucoma or another urgent eye problem. Call right away for guidance.
Can glaucoma be treated with medication alone?
Some pets respond to medical therapy for a period of time, but glaucoma may progress. If pressure cannot be controlled or vision is threatened, surgery may be recommended.
What causes glaucoma in pets?
Glaucoma may be primary (often related to inherited drainage-angle anatomy) or secondary to other eye issues such as inflammation, tumors, or lens luxation.
What should I bring to my appointment?
Bring any eye medications your pet is using and any relevant medical records, including referral notes and prior test results if available.