In order for your pet to be considered for cataract surgery, it must be free of serious illness, skin and dental disease. Pre-operative blood tests are performed in all animals to help rule out any undetected kidney or liver disease. In order for your pet to benefit from surgery, the retina, the tissue that receives light, must be intact and functioning.
Ocular ultrasound is performed before surgery to make sure the retina is attached.
Older animals or animals with long-standing cataracts may have poor retina tests. If the ERG value is too low, surgery will not be performed. If surgery is performed with an ERG test in the gray zone, there is no guarantee of how long or how well the animal will see after surgery. This is a risk you must be willing to accept if you decide for cataract surgery.