Optivet Referrals
3 Downley Rd, Havant PO9 2NJ, United Kingdom
4.8
263 reviews
8 comments
V27J+7J Havant, United Kingdom
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My 7 year old Persian cat was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer in one eye and also eyelid entropy (which I believe means his eyelids turn in, causing his eyes to be irritated when he blinks). He was referred to Optivet and after an initial consultation, surgery was suggested to correct both. Booking him in was a bit challenging as we waited for a phone call to arrange the surgery but after 48 hours we didn't receive one, so I phoned back and was told to wait for a call from the booking team - this came 24 hours later.
The actual day of the surgery - everything was faultless. The lovely Nurse who took him from me was very kind and patient (I was so worried and upset as he means so much to us!) and she phoned to let me know he was fine and had settled into his enclosure which was really appreciated. As soon as the operation was over, Rob phoned immediately and told me how it went and told me that due to the depth of the ulcer, our cat had to have an eye graft. I was grateful he phoned straight away and was happy to answer any 'stupid' question I had, such as 'If we had got him operated on sooner, would he have avoided the graft? (answer was - no).
We picked him up the same day, unfortunately they had run out of painkiller so they had to phone our local vets to authorise us to pick some up - so my Husband drove to Havant whilst I drove to the local vet to pick some up.
I've never had a cat have an eye operation before so I was worried about his healing - especially when he managed to get his cone off on day 2 and scratch near his eye! I did email Optivet 3-4 times with photos, asking if things were OK and got a response 50% of the time. Approximately 3 weeks after his operation, his eye was red / white so I phoned their emergency out of hours number and the lady was very kind, saying his eye looked OK (I sent her pictures over Whatsapp) but if I was worried, I could book an appointment for a check up the next day, which I did.
Thankfully - his eye was fine and it was just me worrying for nothing. I'm attaching photos not to upset anyone, but just to show my cats healing progress which now, he's been signed off and his graft is exceptionally transparent and the operation was a total success. We're going to continue putting eye drops in his eye every day, just to reduce the risk of him scratching his eye again, but I'm so grateful he's still got his eye and the operation went so well.
I think Optivet have some exceptionally talented nurses, vets and surgeons - I appreciate they're not cheap, but I understand why considering the number of years of training to be a vet, then additional training to become a true specialist. We were lucky as Petplan covered his entire operation and we just ticked the 'pay vet directly' which worked really well for us and wasn't a hassle at all.
I appreciate Optivet are busy so I can understand why me emailing them with photos a few times wasn't a priority to reply - I'm grateful my call was taken out of hours and the overall objective (my cats eye being OK) was achieved.
It needed urgent attention, and we made an early appointment with Optivet Referrals at Havant for consultation and treatment. All the staff were friendly, professional, and reassuring, which helped make our visits to them as pleasant and straight forward as possible at a worrying time.
A big heartfelt THANK YOU to Ian, Richard & team for the wonderful care Todd received.
A week on, he is recovering well, and we look forward to enjoying our walks and fun time with him again in the near future.
Efficiently run from the bottom to the top.
Tatty and I will be forever grateful.
🐾
Their expertise is invaluable