Hans Westermeyer
Assoc Professor
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
CVM Main Building B339
Bio
Dr. Westermeyer joined the NC State Veterinary Medicine team on January 20, 2015 as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology. He grew up in Chile, South America. After obtaining his Veterinary Degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia, he completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Tennessee.
Following a research fellowship at the University of California, Davis, he returned to the University of Tennessee to complete his residency training in Comparative Ophthalmology. Immediately after completing his residency, Dr. Westermeyer moved to Hong Kong for four years and worked in private practice. His research interest is in modulation of scarring after glaucoma valve surgery.
Area(s) of Expertise
PHARMACOLOGY
Modulation of fibrosis after glaucoma valve surgery, corneal reconstruction using novel materials
Publications
- Expanding the invertebrate medicine toolbox: evaluation of opisthosoma tonometry as a novel diagnostic tool for arachnids , AMERICAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY RESEARCH (2024)
- Mydriasis in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) following topical administration of proparacaine, 10% phenylephrine, and rocuronium bromide , VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY (2024)
- Age-associated changes in electroretinography measures in companion dogs , DOCUMENTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA (2023)
- Comparison of a blind and an ultrasound-guided technique for Retrobulbar anesthesia in dogs undergoing unilateral subconjunctival enucleation , VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY (2023)
- Equine pectinate ligament descemetization is associated with age , VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY (2023)
- Sulcus intraocular lens implantation in 17 dogs using a modified ab externo technique , VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY (2023)
- Conservation of a flagship species: Health assessment of the pink land iguana, Conolophus marthae , PLOS ONE (2022)
- Use of Cognitive Testing, Questionnaires, and Plasma Biomarkers to Quantify Cognitive Impairment in an Aging Pet Dog Population , JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE (2022)
- The Biot-Stokes coupling using total pressure: Formulation, analysis and application to interfacial flow in the eye , COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING (2021)
- Veterinary Ophthalmology-Glaucoma Special Issue , VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY (2021)
Grants
Primary angle closure glaucoma is a common disease in dogs, affecting approximately 1% of the population. Currently, even though there are multiple medical and surgical tools to treat glaucoma in dogs, the disease still results in permanent blindness in all dogs. This is due, in part, to the unpredictability and severity of the pressure spikes associated with this disease. Due to defects in the drainage apparatus of the eye, these spikes are often so severe that once they occur, they result in permanent, irreversible damage to vision in a matter of hours. At this point, medical and surgical options can decrease intraocular pressure, but will not reverse vision loss. If the timing of the spikes in intraocular pressure could be predicted, then the medical and surgical tools available could be implemented before these spikes occur, dramatically increasing the time dogs remain with vision. We believe there are measureable changes in the structure of the drainage apparatus of the eye preceding an intraocular pressure spike and retinal damage. And these changes progress in a predictable and sequential manner, allowing for the approximate time until an intraocular pressure spike occurs to be determined. We will perform serial, detailed measurements of the drainage apparatus of the eye and correlate changes in these measurements to the time until a pressure spike occurs or retinal damage is detected. We will also quantitatively evaluate the pupillary reflex to show it can be used as a sensitive indicator of the retinal damage caused by glaucoma.
To use quantitative sensory testing (QST) to compare pain in dogs with chronic glaucoma following pharmacologic ciliary body ablation (CBA) and enucleation
Groups
- CVM: Clinical Sciences
- CVM
- Clinical Sciences: DOCS Equine Ophthalmology
- Clinical Sciences: DOCS Faculty
- Clinical Sciences: DOCS Ophthalmology Faculty
- Hospital: Equine Ophthalmology
- CVM: Focus Area
- CVM: Hospital
- Hospital: Ophthalmology
- Research Area of Emphasis: Pharmacology
- CVM: Research Area of Emphasis
- Residency Ophthalmology
- Focus Area: Small Animal Practice