Snowdonia Eye Vets

20/06/2024

Tilly came to see us a few years ago when her mum noticed a darker lesion on her iris. We advised her to monitor it for signs of growth or colour change and to come back to see us if she was concerned.
Forward a couple of years and it had changed to a much darker lesion which we suspected was possibly cancerous.
After a long discussion Tilly's Mum decided that it was best to have her eye removed which was then sent away for analysis.
As suspected Tilly was diagnosed with iris melanoma but thanks to Tilly's Mum's careful monitoring it has been caught early with an 'excellent' prognosis.
This shows just how important it is for us to monitor our pets eyes for any changes so we can act fast.
Tilly, you have been a very brave little girl and we thoroughly enjoyed our cuddles with you.

12/06/2024

We have some very exciting news!
Not only has our ophthalmology veterinary nurse, Jo Goodwin RVN NCert(AnaesthNsg), passed her Certificate in Anaesthesia and Analgesia but we have been treated to a brand new state of the art AI Ventilator and monitor, the first in North Wales.

This means our surgeons and nurses will be able to provide a higher level of care with monitoring during your pets anaesthetic.

Thanks to Gerald at Eickemeyer Veterinary Equipment for his assistance setting us up.

04/06/2024

Winston has been coming to us for ulcers and dry eye treatment.
Unfortunately due to his breed his eyes are very exposed to the elements causing them to be dry and sore. Prior to surgery he came in for us to perform a Non-Invasive Tear Film Analysis.
We took photos to assess tear quality, tear film breakup times and meibomian gland function.
You can see how poor his results are compaired to normal dogs eyes by looking at the pictures (Winston's results are the first pictures) but thanks to these tests he can now be on the correct treatments to help support his eye health whilst waiting for surgery.
As you can see Winston loved the fuss whilst having his pictures taken.

28/05/2024

Padrig had a routine vaccination at his own vets and on examination they noticed a lesion on his right cornea. His Mum rushed him over to us for an emergency appointment in case there was a foreign body in his eye.
On closer inspection it turned out to be a corneal abscess possibly caused by a penetrating foreign body which had worked its way out.
He started on medical treatment - lots of eye drops and antibiotics for a month with a possible surgery if it didn't improve.
At todays appointment we were very pleased to see that the abscess had healed with no surgery required!
Padrig has been an excellent patient enjoying plenty of cuddles from our vet Freya and even brought us in cakes as a thank you.

22/05/2024

We saw Murray after people out walking had commented to his owner on his different coloured irises.
We performed an iris biopsy which confirmed a melanocytoma.
Laser surgery was then required to remove it and 6 months later we are happy to report that Murray is doing well and there are no signs of melanoma regrowth.
Well done Murray, you have been a superstar throughout your treatment 😊

15/05/2024

Freddie came to see us due to an ulcer not healing. After his examination we could see that he had 17 distichia growing out of his meibomian glands poking the cornea. After surgery to remove the hairs and treatment for the ulcer Freddie spent three weeks in a buster collar to allow the ulcer to heal. Today Freya could free him from the collar and he is back to being his happy, bouncy self again.

08/04/2024

We would like to wish Freya massive congratulations passing her BSAVA Ophthalmology Certificate with commendation! Well done Freya!

01/03/2024

For all veterinary professionals:
We are hosting a CPD evening for vets and nurses covering ocular therapeutics. Food and drinks provided.
Please RSVP to [email protected] and include any dietary requirements. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

20/02/2024

Aran was rushed to us when his parents noticed he had a thorn buried in his eye. After a successful removal and healed ulcer Aran was soon back to his Spaniel ways so to prevent more foreign bodies we recommended goggles to protect his eyes.
We think Aran looks amazing in them and as you can see by the amount of sand on them they provide excellent protection!

17/02/2024

A lot of our clients ask if there are alternatives to the buster collars we use.
Due to the type of surgeries we do and to stop your pet from rubbing after surgery our options are limited but as you can see we are doing a lot of serious research to improve our selection.

13/02/2024

Training for our vets this week.
Anna was learning how to use our laser to treat Glaucoma whilst Freya was assisting Bill with Cataracts surgery

07/02/2024

07/02/2024

Storm came to us last year after loosing her sight and confidence due to cataracts. After surgery and a very strict regime of eye drops she now has good vision and is able to lead her happy life again.
Cataracts can not only cause visual loss but further complications for the eyes if not checked or treated.
Surgery is a lot more involved in animals than humans and a lot more equipment is definitely needed!
With a 90% success rate in at least one good eye for pets that are struggling with vision loss Storm would definitely recommend it.
Our priced start at £3200 for one eye, £4400 for both eyes, £3400 for one eye diabetic, £4600 for both.
Please get your vet to refer you for a consultation.

31/01/2024

Wil came to see us today as his vet had noticed that one eye looked different to the other.
Sadly Wil has glaucoma in his left eye as a result of a fight he had last year which resulted in a challenging ulcer. As cats don't respond well to glaucoma medications he will need to have his eye removed.
He was extremely well behaved for his examination and we think he will look just as handsome with one eye and still be boss of his neighbourhood!

22/12/2023

That’s us nearly done for the Christmas holidays!

Mi fysa ni a Snowdonia Eye Vets yn hoffi dymuno Nadolig hapus a sâff in holl cleientiaid a ei anifeiliaid anwes 🎄

Us and Snowdonia Eye Vets would like to wish all our clients and their pets a happy and safe Christmas 🎄

Thank you all so much for the support over the year and for the lovely Christmas cards and gifts we have received, it does mean a great deal to us ☺️

We are open tomorrow morning between 8:30and 12:30am should you need an appointment or to collect any medication.
After that we are closed until Wednesday 27th.

We are still available by phone should you need us in an emergency situation, please call the normal number and follow the instructions.

20/12/2023

We would like to wish all of our clients a very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

Jingle came in yesterday to have a Non-Invasive Tear Film Analysis (follow our posts to see more about this procedure in the New Year!). Sadly Jingle is not producing any tears so will need to be on some quite extensive treatment.

13/12/2023

We got sent a bunch of flowers from the lovely Poco and his family. It was a pleasure to treat you Poco and happy that we could send you home feeling much better 😊

11/12/2023

Cherry Eye
Both cats and dogs have an extra third eyelid, known as the nictitating membrane, located at the inside corner of the eye. It is made up of conjunctival tissue and moves across the surface of the eye to distribute tears and provide protection.
This third eyelid can prolapse, a pink or reddish smooth mass bulging above the nictitan membrane. It can cause discomfort, conjunctivitis and ocular discharge down the face.
Here we can see bilateral cherry eye before and after surgery performed by our Ophthalmologist Bill. It can take about six weeks for the surgery to settle, and can occassionally need to be repeated, although with Bill's special technique this is rarely the case.

30/11/2023

Barney came in to see our Vet, Kes last week as the owners were worried about his eye. Upon examination we found that he had a foreign object penetrating his eye. He was referred to our Ophthalmology referral team, Eye Vets for further examination and treatment.

Barney has been a star patient throughout his treatment and is currently recovering very well post removal of the foreign object 🙌

Can you spot something very special on his collar?!? Barney and his handler recently passed their Search Dog assessment with Search and Rescue Dog Association SARDA Wales. The red tag with the white cross was given to him at his passing ceremony.

Once he is fully healed he'll be able to get back out with his handler to continue doing amazing and invaluable work with SARDA Wales ☺

30/11/2023

Corneal crosslinking is a relatively new treatment available to veterinary ophthalmology, having been used in human medicine for a number of years to treat corneal disease.
We use it primarily to treat melting corneal ulcers but it can also stabilise and strengthen the cornea prior to grafting procedures and is effective in the treatment of bullous keratopathy (endothelial degeneration). Compared to other procedures it can result in less corneal scarring, reduces the intensity of topical medication needing to be
administered and reduces the risk of Antimicrobial Resistance.
It is a non-invasive procedure which can be performed under sedation or general anaesthetic.
We start by debriding the ulcer and any remaining epithelium. We then apply Riboflavin drops at regular intervals over 30 minutes to allow for pe*******on into the deeper layers of the cornea. An ultraviolet light is then shone onto the surface of the eye and absorbed by the Riboflavin, producing oxygen free-radicals which cause new bonds to form between the collagen strands in the stromal layer increasing the stability and strength as well as killing off bacteria.
The patient will usually be in for the day and go home with a bandage contact lens and a
buster collar to protect the eye from trauma. Topical antibiotics will usually be continued to protect the cornea from re-infection.
The success rate for treating melting ulcers is very high, running at around 90% at Snowdonia Eye Vets.

27/11/2023

Beautiful Tia came to see us a couple of months ago for a deep non-healing stromal abscess. After a very intensive course of treatment, a few visits to us for assessment and a lot of hard work by her owner it is now fully healed and Tia can just relax.

18/11/2023

Poor Gaia managed to run into a spikey thorn whilst out working which broke off and penetrated her cornea causing her eye to leak.
Thanks to Freya's and Anna's steady hands they managed to remove the thorn and repair the cornea.
Gaia now has a few days off work to recover.

13/11/2023

Meet the team.
Today we have Pepper, the boss of Snowdonia Eye Vets!
Not only does she keep an 'eye' on all the staff she takes a keen interest in all the patients that are admitted for surgery and monitors their care once sedated for surgery. She also does a bit of modelling for us and Cibyn Vets.
In Pepper's spare time you will find her walking in the mountains.

07/11/2023

When Benson came to us for another condition we diagnosed him with Dry Eye.
This is a common disease where insufficient or poor quality tears are produced from the tear glands.
To determine what type of dry eye Benson had we performed a Non-Invasive Tear Film Analysis.involving lots of cuddles whilst we took photos of his eyes.
Benson has qualitative dry eye, he doesn't produce enough lipid to feed and lubricate the corneas effectively. However, with the correct lifelong treatment Benson will have pain-free, comfortable eyes and as you can see he is very happy to follow his treatment regime.

04/11/2023

Meet the team.
Today is our resident Ophthalmologist Freya.

Freya graduated from Murdoch University, Australia in 2018 before moving to Wales in search of cooler weather and dramatically beautiful scenery. She joined Cibyn Veterinary Clinic in July 2019 with an interest in primary care and opthalmology.

Freya has just passed her written exams with a distinction and now working on her papers to get her ophthalmology certificate in the Spring.

Outside of work, Freya loves to explore the outdoors with her energetic Spaniel and enjoys playing the violin - she even joined the local orchestra!
Freya is also a very talented artist and it is her masterpieces on display in our reception.

01/11/2023

Antibiotic Amnesty 2023
Antibiotics are essential when treating many conditions in animals and people, but bacteria are becoming resistant to many antibiotics that we use in human and veterinary medicine. It is really important to know that inappropriate disposal of unused antibiotics could contribute to antimicrobial resistance. That is why Snowdonia Eye Vets and Cibyn Veterinary Clinic is taking part in the Antibiotic Amnesty 2023. Throughout November 2023 we are asking pet owners to return any unused or leftover antibiotic medications to us for safe disposal. Please drop off any unused medications to your practice. You can hand them in to a vet, nurse or the reception team. This medication might be left-over from a recent prescription, antibiotics that you didn’t need or out-of-date medication. Let’s keep antibiotics working, together!

31/10/2023

Meet The Team:
Next up we have Anna.
Anna graduated from Liverpool University in 2006 after first completing a Zoology degree. She joined Cibyn Veterinary Clinic in April 2008 with an interest in ophthalmology and surgery.

Having worked alongside the respected Veterinary Ophthalmologist and BVA/KC eye panel member Jill Hubbard for many years, Anna gained her BSAVA Certificate in Ophthalmology on first attempt with distinction. She is a very experienced ophthalmic surgeon and is keenly anticipating the challenge of working as a full time referral clinician at Snowdonia Eye Vets.

Out of the veterinary world Anna has 2 beautiful girls, a husband and a gorgeous black Labrador and in their spare time enjoy going for walks in the Snowdonia mountains.

30/10/2023

Meet the Staff
First up we have Bill our senior Ophthalmologist.

Bill qualified from Cambridge in 1983 and after a varied career in General Practice, including as a practice owner, became an ophthalmic referral clinician in 2003, having obtained the RCVS CertVOphthal at the first attempt in 1997 and then achieved AVP status in the first tranche of candidates in 2015.

Prior to the inception of Snowdonia Eye Vets he has been the lead clinician of the Ophthalmology Departments of three referral centres (Woodcroft Referrals, ChesterGates Referrals and then Rutland House Referrals) followed by a short spell at Eyevet Referrals in Cheshire.

He is experienced in all aspects of ophthalmic surgery and has 13 years of cataract surgery experience having performed, to date, 271 such procedures.

When not wielding an ophthalmoscope, hr can usually be found walking the Snowdonia Mountains or torturing the ears of audiences in his capacity as a keen amateur violinist.