fainty_girl Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 When I got home this afternoon my dog Tilly was shaking her head and her right ear was slightly swollen at the bottom, she was in a bit of pain from it and was a bit sooky. I took her to the vet and she has an aural hematoma and is booked in to have surgery tomorrow. The vet swabbed her ear but Tilly wouldn't let her get the swab very far into her ear, so she will swab it again tomorrow, but there wasn't any sign of infection. The vet explained everything to me, but I just wanted to ask here if any of you have been through this with your dogs to hear of your experience with this surgery? Did your dog make a speedy recovery? Does their ear look any different after it has healed? It sucks that my girl needs surgery! She won't be happy being dropped off at the vet tomorrow . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 saw it heaps years ago ... saw lots of surgeries , lots of recoveries, lots of happy dogs & owners :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 do they still put buttons on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lhok Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Depending on what it looks like will determine what the vet will do I have quite a few dogs go through the surgery and be fine some needed buttons others needed a stitches and a drainage tube. Be aware though your dog might need a elizabethan collar if they are likely to scratch at their wound. --Lhok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 Thanks persephone, that's reassuring to hear! The vet said she will send us home with an Elizabethan collar tomorrow, Tilly's never had to wear one of them before. She already hates going to the vet as it is (after she had surgery on her leg a while ago), so goodness knows what she'll be like after tomorrow. She gets so stressed out that every time she goes she ends up getting a cuddle from which ever vet is seeing her. Fingers crossed that it all goes ok tomorrow though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Avanti* Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 My dogs have had a few ear hematoma operations and they were successful. My main issue in recovery was stopping the head shaking and I resorted to using a big headband in the end rather than an Elizabethan collar. The vet had her ear bandaged to her head for some of the time. I hope it goes well for your girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 If the dog is easy to treat sometimes they can have the ear syringed out and then the ear rolled and taped around the centre tube from a bandage. This leaves the ear sticking up like a horn until it heals and works well, depending on the breed and type of ear. I have had one done with full surgery and ear taped back over the head and she shook the bandages off before I even got her out of the vets. The next three were done with tube method and one needed a drain as well. All done with just a local into the ear flap and the dog awake. My last one was done with the same method but he wouldn't stay still to have it done so was lightly gassed down for them to syringe it out and wrap it around the tube. None of mine ever thought about scratching the ear or had an Elizabethan collar. The biggest problem is them shaking their head and dislodging the bandages. In all cases, regardless of the method, taping or drains, the ears healed in a different shape due to scar tissue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 (edited) I'm not sure of how her surgery was performed but I know a cattle dog who recently had the surgery and now that ear is floppy instead of straight up. She has apparently healed quite well. Edited March 26, 2014 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudia123 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 My Boxer had a large lump on her ear just over a month ago. I took her to the vets and they confirmed it was an aural hematoma, the vet syringed the fluid out of the lump. The vets told me if it was not gone in 10 days it would need to be removed with surgery, and they would need to place a huge amount of stiches to form scar tissue to prevent the hematoma from coming back. The sticthes were to be left in for 3 week and she would need to wear the cone for the same amount of time. I came home and cried as i didn't want my baby to go under the knife, or the down time after recovery. I googled heeps of alternative treatments and came across a product called Super Heal by Augustine Approved, where the provided the ingredients to make it yourself. I made the product the next day and applied it twice daily, after 7 days there was still no change however on the 8th day the heamatoma was totally gone. I continued to apply the for a few extra days just to be sure. Took my girl back to the vets to confirm it had gone and they were blown away. My boxer is hematoma free and we avoided surgery. Hope you read this in time and can also avoid sugery for you both. xo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Thanks everyone :). Tilly had her surgery today and it went really well. I picked her up in the afternoon, she is a bit dopey from the pain medication, but she is happy and content, she was wanting extra cuddles from everyone here and now she is resting quietly in her bed outside my bedroom door. The vet nurse said the hematoma was very small and that she really had to look for it at first when she was helping the vet. Tilly didn't have an ear infection and there wasn't any kind of foreign body in her ear. She hasn't tried to touch her ear yet, but I will put the Elizabethan collar on her in the evenings or when I can't watch her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 did they first look at why she was shaking her head? Years ago Penny got a grass seed in her ear. The vet took it out but she'd already given herself a pretty severe haematomas on both ears. I was sent home with panalog ointment, and also told to ice pack her ears. I turned her ears inside out, folded them on top of her head and bandaged them like that for as long as she'd put up with it and laid an ice pack on top for about 10 minutes at a time. They healed perfectly, no cauliflower ears, she still has the beautiful folding rose ears of a whippet. I remember at the time the vet was impressed with what I'd done and commented that if anyone can get them right without the need for further treatment it was me. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fainty_girl Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Tilly recovered really well :), I watched her like a hawk, but she left her ear alone and didn't need to wear the Elizabethan collar. When she had her stitches out the vet was happy with it. As you can see in the photos, Tilly just has a bit of a fold at side of her ear, so she has a slightly wonky ear, but it is absolutely fine. It feels like I spend so much time at the vet. My other dog is sick and is off to the vet tomorrow, I hope they can help her . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 :) looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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