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I had to take my Golden in to the vet yesterday for a swollen ear flap. I already knew it was an aural hematoma, but I wasn't expecting to hear it required surgery under general anesthesia. The vet did say he might be able to do a needle excision, but didn't think it would be successful in the long term.
Has anybody dealt with this that could clue me on on how they handled it? The Golden in question is 10.5 yrs old.
Surgery or general anesthesia is not needed and in my opinion your vet is just seeing $$$$ and not the dog,
A hematoma is swelling created by a broken blood vessel after bleeding has occurred inside a tissue. Hematomas within the earflaps (“aural hematomas”) occur when head shaking breaks a blood vessel within the earflap.
Asperation This procedure involves simply using a syringe to remove the fluid contents from the hematoma.
Get some rubbing alcohol& a syringe wipe down the ear and lance it yourself.
do so with out the plunger in the syringe and the fluid should flow out on it own. IF not try lancing it with the plunger in the syringe and try to draw the fluid out that way.
You may have to do this 1-5 times over the next 2-3 weeks if it refills.
A syringe can easily be obtained.
I have done this myself, it is easy to do.
also, If left alone, an ear hematoma will resolve by itself. The fluid will be re-absorbed back into the body and the earflap will no longer bulge. Usually there is a reason why a dog has been shaking his/her head: an ear infection. This means that the ear infection must be treated along with the hematoma.
yes, my 16.5 year old weimaraner has had two of these surgeries for hematoma within the last couple of years. It works and he survived the surgeries/anaesthesia although the vet was being very careful. And his ear flaps are now fine.
If the hematoma is large you can't get enough out with lancing and you're just prolonging the inevitable - and if it happens, the dog can end up with a cauliflower ear from scarring.
My son had an English mastiff - the vet tried aspirating a number of times but the fluid had sort of congealed and was too thick. That thing was huge - bigger than a 50 cent piece - we messed with it for a couple of weeks but it just didn't get better and the dog was pretty miserable. We had the surgery, very simple, and no problems with recovery at all. His ear is fine. I figured the dog would try to scrape at his ear with his paw following surgery, but he didn't bother it a single time.
What we did find is a wide disparity in how much vets charge for this. My vet, whom I adore, wanted $340. A vet in Little Rock, AR, wanted a whopping $525. A more rural vet with a great reputation (and clearly a lot less overhead) did it for $164. You might do a little shopping. It's not a complicated surgery so I'm not sure why the spread in charges between vets I would consider equally competent.
Your best bet for correcting the aural hematoma and not having a recurrence is surgery. A close look at the ears to see what's causing the head flapping in the first place is definitely needed.
Reps to all, I appreciate the info. Snofarmer, I wish I had the guts to try your route, but, I don't. Not even close. I would be too afraid of hurting my pup. Do you use any numbing cream?
Sam I Am, I was quoted "about $300" for the surgery. I have gone further for more expensive issues, such as a cruciate repair, but this price seems reasonable to me, no?
She was thoroughly checked for an ear infection, but that isn't the case. It's one of those unexplainable injuries.
Mattie, "about $300" was a pretty common figure when we looked - I'm not sure where you're located, I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.
Bo The Mastiff's ear wasn't infection either - we assume he got it playing with another family dog, or just hit his ear on something (he's pretty big, even doorways present problems ). He really doesn't flap his ears so that's all we can figure.
But of course all that doesn't matter, you just want your dog well again. I am assuming the dog is in good health for it's age? I'd do it again in a hurry....we also tried aspiration and letting the vet aspirate; ultimately we had to have the surgery anyway and I wished we'd just done it from the get-go.
Cost and that there is no guarantee it will not happen again and it can go away on it's own.
Small medical procedures can easily be done by anyone.
Anesthesia is the biggest danger to your dog in this instance, you realize your dog could die from it, a small chance but a chance never the less.
If it makes you feel better or your unsure go to the vet
but it can be taken care of at home also.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4
My dog had it done. No big deal. She had the anesthesia. Just lancing it carries too much risk of recurrence.
Just get it dealt with once and for all.
Fortunately, the surgery is done, and she's home, with a drain and bandage in place. I think the plan is to remove the drain on Friday and stitch up the ear.
Somehow she also scratched her cornea, and that is concerning the vet more than the ear. Three days on antibiotic ointment hasn't helped, so we're going to try using it 4 x's a day.
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). He really doesn't flap his ears so that's all we can figure.
