My dog has an aural hemotoma AGAIN

[RubberChickenLubber]

She had one in her left ear last year, and I noticed this morning she had one in her right ear. So I have to call tomorrow and see about them getting her in for surgery.

 

[FLOWERPOT]

Im not sure what that is...
Is that where the ear swells up kinda like a baloon?
I had a puppy that happened to once, and the vet lanced it, I had to keep it clean and open for a few days.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

Yes, it's like blood pools in the ear. My vet basically filets the ear, then spot stitches it (puts stitches over the whole ear in a pattern, similar to how some quilts are done). I know some vets will put drainage tubes in, but mine doesnt, I think it depends on the method the vet uses to treat it.

 

[HenPen]

My dog had one in her left ear and it was repaired with a drain tube and it came back about 2 months later,had it repaired with the quilt stitching method and all was well and never returned.....its heartbreaking to see and it looks so painful all swollen before the surgery.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

At least my dog is a pit. She's gotten bitten by a copperhead, and acted fine. I'm sure it hurts, but she perserveres. I'm gonna talk to the vet and see if there is a possiblity of it happening again (i wonder if with the method they use, it may mess up the vessels where it can't) if it can happen again, I may just see about having her ears cropped, to prevent it.

 

[crtrlovr]

does your dog have ear mites or an infection that would cause her to shake her head frequently? (This happened with my sister's cat). It might be something to check ... I hope your baby heals with no other issues.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

No, she doesn't, but I do know when she wakes up from a nap the first thing she does is shake her head, pretty hard too. So that may be part of what causes it. I have an internet friend, who has a pit who has had the same problem. Her theory is that pits are more likely to let their ears get shut in doors or get squished or slammed some how or other due to their tolerance of pain. Beats me, but it's odd that she's 10 and has had it happen in each ear within a year.

 

[crtrlovr]

My sister has a Lhasa Apso that has chronic yeast infections in her ears. They've done aural lavage, put her on antifungals, and have even done surgery on them. The surgery helped, but she still has occasional infections. The moisture in the ears makes the candida (yeast) more difficult to eradicate. Dogs with ears that hang down or have heavy flaps are more prone to ear infections. If she's shaking her head especially after sleeping, there is SOMETHING going on.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

She's shook her head after sleeping since she was a pup, and now she's over 10 yrs old...lol. My hubby and son scratch their head and legs when they wake up, but nothing's wrong with them. Well, there may be something wrong with hubby..rofl

 

[HenPen]

Quote:
Mine was a Pit too...