Pannus (Revised) - Page 1

My 2 1/2 year old German Shepherd was just diagnosed with Pannus. My Vet gave me Tacrolimus 0.02% for my dog. The Vet said that this was a much newer and stronger medication that just came out and is showing positive results. My GS has been using it for 2 weeks now. Has anyone used this Medication and have seen positive results? Also is Pannus a life-long disease? Will my dog have to be on medication for the rest of her life? My vet wants to try this first before we take the next step to see the Specialist. Also how much does a visit to the specialist cost to check and see if this is in fact the disease she has? What medication did the specialist give you,how much did that cost and how long did the medicine last? Any Information will help. Thank you

Is this condition hereditary?

It is autoimmune related;  therefore autoimmune can be passed on to progeny.  So if you look at pannus from that standpoint one could say YES it is inheritible.  Not enough studies have been done to definitely say "pannus" itself is inheritible but I can honestly say I believe it is. 

My white shepherd had pannus.  Yes, I had to treat her her entire life.  I doubt my X husband is treating it though.  He has her now along with one of my other dogs.  I took 2 and he kept 2.  if not treated, she will most likely go blind.

 My dog was diagnosed at the age of 4 with Pannus.  Hers is described as atypical pannus.  She started on antibiotic drops.  Then I took her to an eye specialist and he prescribed cyclosporine drops which she has been on for about 3 years. She is now 8. Her eyes were looking funny to me(sorry for lack of better terminology) and I decided to get a second opinion from another eye specialist just to be sure I was doing everything I could for her.  Sure enough the cyclosporine was not enough to keep her pannus under control and her eyes were getting worse.  This new specialist has switched her to Tacrolimus 0.02%.  She is also on Triple antibiotic Dxeamethasone drops as her tear ducts were clogged and she could only get one to irrigate so she is on this drop for inflamation then she will clear other tear duck.

So your vet is correct and giving you the latest available medicine.  This medicine is supposed to even be able to reverse some of the pigment problems associated with my dogs pannus. My eye specialist will se her in a month for a follow up and then wants to see her annually for check ups.

Yes this is a lifelong condition that must be treated.  It is hereditary and is an auto immune problem.  My dog also has EPI so she was already immune compromised prior to the pannus setting in.

Hope this helps.