Comprehensive Eye Care for Animals

What to Expect

Arrival

We learned during the pandemic keeping lobby traffic to a minimum is much less stressful for our patients and clients. When you arrive, please call or text the office at 517-655-2777. Please wait in the parking lot, or in your car, and we’ll notify you when a room is ready. You may elect to do a curbside appointment if you choose. (If doing curbside, please have your phone available for Dr. Ramsey to call you during the appointment.)

You may access the restroom at any time while you are here. From the parking lot: follow the sidewalk to the left of the front door and enter thru the side door on the SW corner of the building (on the Grand River side.)

  • All pet’s must be on a leash or in a carrier. We have slip-leashes if needed.

Patient and Staff Safety

Please let us know when you call to check in if your pet does not like other animals. We will do our best to arrange a scenario so your pet will not encounter another pet while entering or exiting our building.

PLEASE inform us PRIOR to the exam if your pet may become nervous with restraint or close contact so that we may have you place a muzzle.  Even if your pet has never snapped at, or bitten anyone before, our exam requires us to be eye-to-eye with your pet. This can cause some pets to become nervous and/or anxious. If your pet shows ANY sign of fear or aggression (growling, showing teeth, etc) we will require a muzzle to be placed by you to complete our exam. This will not harm or traumatize your pet in any way. If you are unable (or unwilling) to muzzle your pet, when necessary, we may be unable to attempt or complete an exam. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding!

During your appointment

We will perform a complete ophthalmic exam:

  • A licensed veterinary technician will obtain a detailed history, verifying information on our New Client Form to be filled out within a week of your appointment.
  • The technician will then perform initial testing, which includes vision testing and checking intraocular pressure (tonometry). Additional testing may be performed if necessary.
  • The technician will then notify Dr. Ramsey of your arrival and review case details.
  • Dr. Ramsey will perform his exam, including examination of the anterior (front) segment of the eye (the eyelids, conjunctiva, cornea, anterior chamber, iris, and lens) using a slit lamp biomicroscope and direct illumination. Then, he will examine of the posterior (back) segment of the eye (vitreous, retina, and optic nerve) using an indirect ophthalmoscope and condensing lens. He will then discuss or perform additional testing, if needed.

Additional testing beyond the exam may include:

  • Schirmer tear testing for dry eye
  • Fluorescein dye testing (to aid in examining ulcers/abrasions)
  • Jones test (to test patency of the tear ducts)
  • Rose Bengal dye testing (to aid in diagnosis viral lesions)
  • Refraction (to determine the optics of the eyes)
  • Gonioscopy (to determine the anatomy of the iridocorneal angle)
  • Ophthalmic ultrasound
  • Blood Pressure
  • Additional tests are occasionally performed based on the exam

It is absolutely critical that we perform our own exam and diagnostic testing in most cases (even if your veterinarian has previously done the same diagnostic tests) so that we can provide you with a correct diagnosis and a treatment plan for your pet. We accept blood work that was previously done by your veterinarian but this may also need to be repeated in certain cases.

After the exam

It is our goal that you are well-educated and have a clear understanding about your pet’s eye condition.  Dr. Ramsey will provide a diagnosis, describe the ocular condition in clear and understandable terms, discuss the necessary recommended medication(s) and treatment instructions to you, both verbally and in a detailed written “Discharge Instructions”.

A technician will review the discharge instructions with you and answer any questions not answered during the exam. They will also go over medication instructions, if necessary. Then, they will check you out in the room and schedule your pet for a recheck, if needed.

Timely communication with your veterinarian is very important to us.  A copy of the discharge instructions will be sent to your veterinarian on the same day that your pet was examined.

Surgery

Surgical appointment drop-off times are scheduled between 8am-10am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We try to schedule your pet’s drop-off time at least 2 hours before surgery is scheduled to allow for blood work, pre-medication, IV catheter placement, and other pre-surgical diagnostic testing and surgical preparation.

Most pets are hospitalized for an average of 4-6 hours, with discharge times scheduled between 3-4:30pm. There are many factors that decide our surgery order. We often do not know our surgery schedule order until all patients for the day are admitted. We can notify you by text when your pet is admitted to the hospital, when surgery starts, and when they are moved into recovery (during which we will assign a pick-up time). If you are not able to receive text messages, we will call you when surgery is done and assign a pick-up time. Our surgeries do not require your pet to remain hospitalized overnight. We understand the importance of minimizing hospitalization, especially in older and anxious pets. If your pet may benefit from special accommodations, please let us know.

In certain cases, we are able to schedule an initial consultation and surgery on the same day. These are reserved for cases that are very likely to require surgery. Some cases are able to be treated medically and surgery is not always recommended. If we perform surgery the same day as the consultation, pets already scheduled have priority in the surgery schedule order, therefore, your pet may not be discharged until late afternoon. Patients with cataracts cannot have a consultation and surgery on the same day as they may require medical treatment prior to surgery and we must also perform an eye exam to determine if your pet is a good candidate for surgery first. Therefore, we do not schedule initial consultation and cataract surgery for the same day.