I recently was reminded of the importance of a good history in the diagnostic workup. A hamster presented with a recent eye injury. Now I approach "pocket pets" just like dogs and cats: thorough husbandry, diet, and health history questions, a complete physical, a list of possible diagnoses and the tests necessary to confirm the problem before treatment. True, the nature of pocket pets often limits the amount that we are able to do, but I like to give them at least the benefit of a good history and physical.
Well this little hamster's eye had been proptosed (bulging out of the socket and lids) for at least a day and all my historical questions left the cause uncovered--no change in the cage environment, no previous eye rubbing, no irritants in the house, and no history of known trauma. It wasn't until I asked if there was any interaction with the family dog that I was told that the hamster had been found in the dog's water bowl 2 days earlier!
This answered the trauma question. And fortunately for this hamster, I was able to sedate it, clean and place the eye back in place and, using our smallest suture, suture the eyelids together to keep it in place while the swelling resolved. One week later we took the sutures out and to my pleasant surprise, the eye appeared normal!
That reminds me of another great eye story, but that's a tale for another day.
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