Pegasus Post: November 22, 2016
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4<br />
Tuesday <strong>November</strong> <strong>22</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
PEGASUS POST<br />
Your Local Views<br />
McMaster & Heap<br />
Veterinary practice<br />
RefeRReal eye cases<br />
We said:<br />
Were you evacuated? How do you<br />
think it went?<br />
Tsunami systems will be reviewed<br />
by the city council after Monday<br />
morning’s evacuation processes<br />
were widely criticised by residents.<br />
Some eastern residents queued<br />
in traffic for up to two hours trying<br />
to evacuate the area<br />
last Monday morning.<br />
You said:<br />
Lachlan Marshall – If<br />
everyone started evacuating<br />
right when they felt the<br />
shaking like they are supposed<br />
to, as the sirens most<br />
likely don’t get set off for a<br />
locally generated tsunami,<br />
then everyone would get out<br />
in time. Why has no one read the tsunami<br />
risk management plan on the council<br />
website?<br />
Beth Hickland – I’m not sure why<br />
you’re reporting it as hours? I not only<br />
have friends who made it to my house<br />
up the hill in about 20min from New<br />
Brighton, but I also watched all the cars<br />
exiting New Brighton from up at Mt Pleasant<br />
and the cars were flowing and all was<br />
pretty much completely cleared in under<br />
an hour. Where are you talking about?<br />
Lynley Ward – Seriously?<br />
Be prepared . . . it’s not like<br />
we haven’t been given the information.<br />
Have a plan. Don’t<br />
for one minute think you’ll<br />
have your wits about you when<br />
you’re in the midst of a disaster.<br />
Nathan Fletcher – Civil<br />
Defence needs to get its act<br />
together it’s not good when foreign<br />
news media are announcing<br />
tsunamis and evacuation<br />
noticed on live and our local agencies and<br />
media are saying they we don’t all I can<br />
say thank God it wasn’t a major tsunami.<br />
Recently<br />
Dr Steve Heap examined 20 week old<br />
Beagle puppy called “Penny”, who<br />
presented as a referral with a painful,<br />
partially closed right eye. Penny had<br />
unfortunately been scratched in the eye<br />
by a slightly grumpy older resident cat.<br />
Steve diagnosed a cataract in this eye,<br />
with phacouveitis and serous glaucoma all<br />
in a little puppy. Glaucoma is when there<br />
is increased intraocular pressure causing<br />
pain and discomfort. Steve had discussed<br />
with the owners that this right eye had a<br />
hopeless prognosis for vision. Topical eye<br />
medications were instigated to control<br />
the pain and inflammation and rising<br />
pressure in the eye. Steve also discussed<br />
that if these medications didn’t hold this<br />
condition, Penny’s eye would need to be<br />
enucleated. Pretty quickly it was noticed<br />
that the right eye had deteriorated<br />
beyond medical therapy. Enucleation (<br />
removal) of the eye and placement of an<br />
intrascleral prosthesis ( glass bead eye)<br />
was surgically undertaken to relieve Penny<br />
from a life of medication and pain.<br />
The surgery was a success and 4 weeks<br />
on, Penny is a happy, active, normal wee<br />
puppy with a prosthetic right eye and<br />
normal vision out of the left eye.<br />
Another interesting ophthalmology case<br />
for Dr Steve Heap came from the SPCA.<br />
A 5 month old stray sneezing kitten was<br />
examined by Steve and found to have<br />
no lateral upper eyelids in both the left<br />
and right eyes, a condition called Bilateral<br />
Upper Lateral Eyelid Agenisis. As a result<br />
the eyes were<br />
sore, dry and<br />
constantly irritated<br />
by hair rubbing<br />
on the cornea<br />
(the sensitive clear<br />
window of the<br />
eye).<br />
Steve trialled<br />
lubricants<br />
and antibiotic<br />
ointments in the eyes in the hope<br />
the eyes would be comfortable long<br />
term, but this wasn’t the case. The kitten<br />
was taken to surgery and Steve carefully<br />
and intricately created upper eyelids<br />
by harvesting strips of skin taken from<br />
below the lower lids. All in all a successful<br />
outcome for this wee kitten who will<br />
be rehomed and avoid a lifetime of<br />
medication.<br />
Zara Woolfe – We left nearly an hour<br />
before the sirens, it was common sense to<br />
go, really we had no issues with traffic or<br />
getting out and there were several other<br />
cars leaving out of Bridge St as well at that<br />
time.<br />
Melanie Manning – I haven’t read<br />
the action plan as I don’t live anywhere<br />
near the coast. But I’m thinking even if<br />
everyone jumped in the cars at 12.10am<br />
wouldn’t the traffic issue be the same as<br />
when they waited for the sirens to go off?<br />
And why should they not go off for a local<br />
quake?<br />
Mark Docherty – Why not adopt the<br />
procedure of an aircraft evacuation. Before<br />
you depart you get a card and a demo on<br />
the closest exit. We should have updates<br />
in the advert on radio and TV with clear<br />
instructions on what route you can take<br />
from your zone.<br />
Heidi Meinzer - Aren’t we told if have<br />
trouble standing during an earthquake<br />
to leave? After the shaking had stopped,<br />
checked on neighbours, we were packing<br />
up and getting out. We shouldn’t have to<br />
be told to leave. We left way before the<br />
sirens and what not.<br />
Not all pets with enucleated eyes need to<br />
have prosthetics placed. Steve will often<br />
enucleate an eye and then stitch the lids<br />
together. This ends up cosmetically looking<br />
fine. Due to Penny’s very young age, her<br />
owners felt a prosthetic eye would look<br />
more pleasing on their cute wee pup.<br />
This cute owl was bought into Steve<br />
recently due to opacities noted on its<br />
corneas affecting its’ ability to see clearly.<br />
Steve isn’t sure of the cause but is trialling<br />
antibiotic drops as he suspects an<br />
infective cause.<br />
Open 7 days<br />
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place<br />
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624<br />
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz<br />
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz<br />
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