Miniature Jersey cow sees clearly after cataract surgery at UF's VMC

It's blue skies, clear eyes for Lulu these days.

The 4-month-old miniature Jersey cow, owned by Peter Petres, of Bradenton, was born with cataracts but now has the gift of sight, thanks to the UF Veterinary Medical Center's ophthalmology team.

"She came in on Tuesday, Oct. 10, had surgery the next day and went home the following Monday so that we could keep her confined and give her intravenous medications," said Caryn Plummer, D.V.M., an assistant professor of ophthalmology, who served as the attending veterinarian on the case along with Maria Kallberg, D.V.M., Ph.D.

"We did cataract extraction by way of a procedure called phacoemulsification, which involves making a small incision in the cornea ' the same procedure that we use to remove cataracts in dogs and that human ophthalmologists use to remove cataracts in humans," Plummer said. "The cow's lens is much larger, though."

Plummer said Lulu is "doing great" and had returned to the VMC two weeks after surgery for a re-check.

"She's healing beautifully," Plummer said. "Her vision will never be normal, because we do not have an intraocular lens available for use in cows, since there is no commercial market for such things. Even so, her vision will certainly be better than before the cataract removal."

Petres and his wife, Tracy, had been looking for a miniature Jersey cow because they thought the breed would be perfect for their five-acre ranchette near Sarasota.

"Over the years, I kept tabs on breeders, availability, prices and general information," he said.

"This past June, I saw that a breeder had a heifer cow born with congenital cataracts. It tugged at my heartstrings, what the outlook might be for this calf, so before I even spoke to the breeder, I contacted UF's VMC to see what might be done."

Told that cataract removal was indeed possible and would give Lulu a better quality of life, Petres contacted the breeder and arranged to pick up Lulu.

"With the cataracts, Lulu had a limited routine on her own, so I made it a point to walk her as often as possible with a halter," Petres said. "There was no problem giving her attention where she was staying, as she is so cute and everyone loved her. She was brushed and handled often and seemed to thrive."

Veterinary ophthalmology resident Sarah Blackwood, D.V.M., called daily with Lulu's progress and the next week Petres brought her home.

"The next morning when I brought Lulu out of the stall into the pasture, it was her turn to kick and run," Petres said. "She ran around in circles, stopped to sniff poles and sniff me, and then went back to running."