EVALUATION OF TECHNIQUES FOR CORRECTION OF ENTROPION IN LAMBS

Purebred and crossbred lambs exhibiting signs of entropic eyelids with varying levels of severity were treated by four different treatment t echniques. Of the 274 entropic eyes, a vast majority (83.9%) was treat ed adequately by one of the four treatment techniques. Excision was th e most efficacious method (92.4%), followed by injection (84.3%), pinc hing (78.9%) and wound clip (66.7%). Only 3.7% of the cases treated wi th excision required retreatment. However, the percentage of overcorre ction was the highest (17.1%) with this technique, mainly due to varia tion among technicians administering the treatments. It was observed t hat there was a large between-breed variation, and certain rams sired most of the entropic progenies within some breeds. The possible inheri ted nature of entropion is being studied in this flock and will be rep orted separately. In conclusion, frequency of retreatment and overcorr ection, as well as suitability of these techniques to general manageme nt practices in a flock, should be considered before choosing the appr opriate technique.