Animal Ophthalmology Center

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The first time we saw this vet, I was given anti-viral drops to put in Arabelle's eyes, with a follow-up appointment a few weeks later. There was no improvement, so we were given a different medicine. At the next followup, the ulcers (sores) on her eyes were healing, but the discharge remained. We were given another medicine to add to the first. After several more followups, adding more medicine each time (eventually Arabelle had five different medications to take or have applied several times a day), her eyes were getting worse again.
It was determined that medicating her was stressing her out to the point where the medicine was having no effect and the virus was running rampant. We backed off on the meds, got the ulcers healed again, then discontinued all meds despite the discharge showing the virus was still active.
The cost of all this was a bit pricey, but to be expected since this is a specialist. The staff were all professional and courteous and I rarely had to wait long to be seen by the doctor. I also had to schedule time off from work, since this vet does not have evening or weekend hours.
I believe that with a different cat, the treatment would probably have worked properly. But Arabelle is an all-white, tempermental diva.
It has been over three years. The virus is still active, but quiets for a period of months so that the dark discharge is not overwhelming and I can keep her face clean by wiping once or twice a day. When the discharge becomes too much, making her eyes, nose and cheeks almost black, then my regular vet gives me oral azithromycin to get the secondary bacterial infection under control. Arabelle is now over 16 years old and we will probably have to deal with this the rest of her life.
If another one of my cats were to develop eye problems, I would not hesitate to return to this specialist if my regular vet was unable to treat them successfully.

My 10 year old scottie was experincing vision problems and we were referred to this speciality service. they did a great job of saving the dogs vison in her left eye. It is a pricey, however I felt that everything possible was being done for my animal.

We were referred to Dr. Ramsey by our regular vet in Traverse City, Dr. Jossens of Grand Traverse Veterinary Hospital. Early in the summer, our boxer/ lab mix "Boots" investigated a porcupine a little too closely and ended up with several quills in here eye. The injury seemed to be healing at first, but it never really cleared up fully. In early October, the eye became very swollen and was not responding to treatment. Our vet consulted with Dr Ramsey via phone several times and she finally recommended that we take Boots to him for an exam, ultrasound and possibly surgical treatment. He agreed to see us the day we called (!!!!) and we made the three hour drive to the Animal Ophthalmology Center. The facility is very nice with a large, comfortable waiting area complete with a play room for the kids. The staff was friendly and helpful in making sure that we and our dog were comfortable. The waiting area and exam room were both very clean and professional in appearance. After a very short wait in the exam room, we were joined by a vet tech who performed the initial assessment and tests. I wish I could remember her name, because she was wonderful! Very patient and thorough, always making sure that our dog was not frightened or made uncomfortable by the tests. Another very short wait and Dr. Ramsey came in and introduced himself. Our dog is a rescue, and due to prior experience she is usually initially shy around men. She took to Dr Ramsey almost right away however, even in the unfamiliar surroundings. He too performed some tests and examined the eye, also being very careful in handling the dog while explaining in detail to us what he was looking for. Unfortunately, he arrived at the conclusion that the was no real chance of saving the eye, and even if he could, Boots would never regain vision in the eye. Again, he took his time to explain the situation, using terms we could understand and referring to a diagram of a canine eye on the wall to illustrate what was going on. He also informed us that while would be happy to perform an ultrasound on the eye, it wouldn't do anything other than perhaps tell us if there was still a quill in the eye. It would not change Boots' condition or improve the chances of sight returning to the eye. His honesty regarding the ultrasound not only saved us a significant amount of money, it also spared our dog what would likely have been a frightening, unpleasant experience. After additional conversation, we determined that surgical removal of the eye was our best option. Dr Ramsey then provided us with detailed, written estimates for two different procedures. One procedure removed the entire eye and sutured it shut, the other involved removing the interior of the eyeball and replacing it with a prosthetic eye. The latter allows for a pretty natural looking appearance, but since there is still living tissue left, we were concerned that our dog (who loves tearing through our fields and woods at about 100 miles an hour) might re-injure the eye since she wouldn't be able to see sticks etc coming at it. The prices for the surgeries were a little less than what I had expected, coming in at well under $2000 with only several hundred dollars difference between the two. Dr Ramsey told us he could do the surgery that day and that we would most likely be able to take Boots home with us that evening. Then he did something truly amazing. He offered to call our vet at home to see if they could perform the procedure for less money. He explained that not only would we save money (which of course meant that Dr Ramsey would "lose" it) on the surgery, but we would also save time and money on the necessary follow-up visits. He also explained that the eye removal surgery was not complicated and that most vets did them on a fairly regular basis. He did say that the end result might not be as "pretty" as his because of some cosmetic techniques he employs, but that would likely be the only difference. He left the exam room to make the call and was back in a matter of minutes, smiling. "I've got great news for you", he said, and then went on to tell us that our vet willing and able to perform the surgery. Better still he said, she could do it for $1000 less! We were floored. Dr Ramsey was smiling and genuinely pleased, even though he was giving up probably $2000 or better. He mentioned again that he would be happy to perform the surgery if we wished, but that he thought we would be wiser to have it done at home. We thanked him profusely and made the decision to have our vet do the surgery. Dr. Ramsey then spent another 5 minutes or better with us answering questions and providing advice on how to keep Boots as comfortable as possible (he had told us that the swelling in here eye was likely giving her "one whopper of a headache") until her surgery date. Even though the necessity of the visit to the Animal Ophthalmology Center was unfortunate, the experience was excellent from start to finish. Dr Ramsey and his staff all seem to be very ethical and compassionate and the facility is modern, well equipped and well maintained. First rate service that I would recommend to anyone!