Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in Labrador retrievers. I. Development of retinal tears and detachment.

We used clinical and pathologic methods to examine ten Labrador retrievers with ocular and skeletal abnormalities. The major ocular findings were axial myopia; cataract; vitreous abnormalities, including liquefaction, detachment, and vitreoretinal traction; retinal tears; rhegmatogenous retinal detachment; and proliferative vitreoretinopathy. The appendicular skeleton showed retarded bone growth, bone dysplasia, and degenerative arthropathy. Vitreoretinal traction appeared to be the cause of the retinal tears because (1) formed vitreous was always attached near the anterior edge of the tear, and (2) vitreous traction caused a retinal ridge adjacent to a retinal tear in a dog that had not yet developed retinal detachment. The pathogenetic sequence of spontaneous vitreous abnormalities, retinal tears, and retinal detachment observed in these dogs has not previously been described in animals, to the best of our knowledge, and mimicked human rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, particularly those associated with giant retinal tears.