# Dog Ear Hematoma,does it go away w/o surgery?



## ufo_chris

Ok, I searched this forum and googled this and there are 2 views :
1. get the surgery
2. let it go and it will reabsorb 
The thread I found was a few years old so I was wondering how many of you guys have let it go and it reabsorbed and it was fine .
I don't care about the deformed ear,just if there is pain.
Binnie is a 8 yr old chow mix with chow like ears!
She had it on her other ear 3 or 4 years ago and I got the surgery and it was $170 ! At the time they told me the main reason to get it done
was the deformaty and although the money hurt I got it done because she was still pretty young.
Now I called to see if there is any new treatment and see what they say chances are it will go away and how much it would cost if I decide to do it.
Well the receptionist said chances are it won't go away by itself and that it is painful. I told her it is not now (you know you can tell) but she said it will get more painful.
Most info I got said it is not painful,one written by a DVM,PHD (he also said it will reabsorb) 
She also said it will be around $300 now! Ouch!
The other thing is that this dog is not very (or at all) social with other people, I got her when she was a few month old and beaten or abused by her previous owner , and she is scared of everyone but me.
So this whole thing will be traumatising for her. I know last time it was.
She had to wear the collar forever then go back get the 'buttons' out too.
I made an appointment to look at her and give me an exact price and talk too vet about letting it go but I'm sure they will try to talk me into surgery so this is why I'm checking with you guys.
Thanks,Chris


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## steff bugielski

We had an older dog who had a severe ear mite problem that resulted in a hematoma. We did nothing for it. We did get rid of the earmites. It did not go away but I do not think it was painful. It did get hard as a rock though.


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## mekasmom

They go away. Our vet always just treated them conservatively with ice followed by heat and some DMSO/dex. Our older shih tzu had two of them, and turned out fine. We did have to massage the ear daily as it dried up, so his stayed pliable, plus the steroids helped the swelling go down.


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## Haven

My grandfathers dog had one a few years back. Vet charged him $800 to drain it and sewed a sponge onto the ear leather. The hematoma went away but the ear looks all mangled and covered with scar tissue from the stitches and sponge.

Same dog developed one in the other ear a few mo back and he decided to let it go. Its still a tad puffy but looks 100% better than the 800$ "fixed-ear."


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## Ravenlost

They are very painful and there's no way I would let one of my dogs suffer like that. We've had surgery done on a cat and a dog for hematomas. The dog, our Black Lab Drake, developed his on a Friday and we called the vet. They said he would have to wait until Monday before they could do surgery on it and he suffered all weekend. He was absolutely miserable.

$300 seems awfully steep. Can you get price quotes from other vets in your area?


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## Minelson

There can be so much pressure in there...they are painful.  The vet where I work, I don't know the exact price but I'm sure it's around $100. I have never heard of putting a sponge in there! That sounds very strange. When the scalpel hits it look out! The blood can blast out of there. owie.


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## Stonybrook

My dog had one, and I had it surgically treated. I'm glad I did it because it think it would have been thick and nasty looking/feeling if I had not. It did not cost me $800 either. I can't figure out why it would cost $800. That seems outrageous to me.


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## Oregon Julie

In my case the rule of thumb with a hematoma is that if the dog is a show dog and needs to be tidy for the ring it will, no matter how much money we throw at the problem, heal in an ugly way. If the dog is already a champion or just a companion dog, it will heal fine even if I don't spend a dime on it:-(


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## ufo_chris

Thanks for all your answers.
It is still confusing though....it does seem to pull both ways...
Could it be painful in some not in others?
Or do some people think because they tilt their head and shake it sometimes ,it's painful?(My research shows,and it makes sense,that this is due to the different 'feeling' of the ear, not pain. It's like they want the 'strange' thing to drop off)
If it was painful she would yipe when I touch it and she does not. I can handle it no prob. with no protest at all! (and she would!)
I did ask a different vet about it today and he said it is definitely not painful and should reabsorb,but there will be scarring ,the 'cauliflower ear'.
And WOW ,$800!!! 
Thanks so much...
Chris


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## Ravenlost

Drake's was painful, but it was also so swollen his ear stuck straight out from his head like he had a balloon attached to his head instead of an ear. He's a big Black Lab and has the floppy Lab ears. If we attempted to touch it he would whimper. It HURT.

I know people think we're nuts, but our rule of thumb is...if it were our child would we take it to the doctor?


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## ufo_chris

Ravenlost said:


> Drake's was painful, but it was also so swollen his ear stuck straight out from his head like he had a balloon attached to his head instead of an ear. He's a big Black Lab and has the floppy Lab ears. If we attempted to touch it he would whimper. It HURT.
> 
> I know people think we're nuts, but our rule of thumb is...if it were our child would we take it to the doctor?


Don't get me wrong, I would get the surgery if it was painful, but it is not.
Maybe it is the shape of the ear then? 
Her's is really puffed up too,not a floppy ear ,but like I said definitely no pain.
Thanks,Chris


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## Ravenlost

Could be the size of the ear too. However, when our cat had a hematoma he also was having pain with it.

Best thing you can do is keep an eye on it and see how it goes. Hopefully it will heal quickly, but don't be surprised if it happens again.


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## mekasmom

ufo_chris said:


> definitely not painful and should reabsorb,but there will be scarring ,the 'cauliflower ear'.
> And WOW ,$800!!!
> Thanks so much...
> Chris


Can't he give you some steroids to put on it like Dex? or a steroid shot or oral ones? It helps with the swelling.
It doesn't turn into cauliflower ear as long as you work with the ear daily to keep it pliable when it starts to go down. You can also use hotpacks, not now, but when it starts to go down. While it is freshly swelling you use cold packs.
It's not painful if she doesn't think it is. If it seems painful then the vet would give some pain killers.


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## ufo_chris

mekasmom said:


> Can't he give you some steroids to put on it like Dex? or a steroid shot or oral ones? It helps with the swelling.
> It doesn't turn into cauliflower ear as long as you work with the ear daily to keep it pliable when it starts to go down. You can also use hotpacks, not now, but when it starts to go down. While it is freshly swelling you use cold packs.
> It's not painful if she doesn't think it is. If it seems painful then the vet would give some pain killers.


I will still go have it looked at on Monday. I'll ask about that.
Thanks,
Chris


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## lasergrl

Some vets poke a hole in the ear (closer to the tip on a flop ear, or base if prick ear) then insert a teat canulla. Then the cap of the canulla is taken of several times a day and drained. I find leaving the cap off is messy but it heals quicker and better looking. I have done this myself at home but I have seen it done many times. The blade must be a sterile one and the hole must be the right size to keep the canulla in. They are not given any pain relief for the poke but they dont seem to feel it, and it is more of a relief. I am not sure why other vets do not use the dairy cow teat canulla method but it works well and very inexpensive.


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## Katskitten

I would like to post a thank you to the posters here. I kept looking at the thread and finally read it. I got curious and googled the term "hematoma" only to realize my oldest TC had exactly that. I procrastinated as usual, but today called the vet and talked to the tech. His comment was bring him right out and that he would need surgery to keep it from turning into the cauliflower ear. WE go to a vet that is almost an hour out from us due to the fact that they will work with us financially. Well the surgery is supposed to cost only $75.00. That is not too bad considering what I already owe them for last kitty. That to me is not too bad, considering all my factors. They had to keep him overnight and will do the surgery tomorrow in the AM. Then we will pick him up in the afternoon. It is toooooo quiet here without him tonight.


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## Minelson

Katskitten....I'm so glad you were able to gleen info from this post. I love this forum! I'm sure your dog will be fine 

UFO Chris...update?


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## Katskitten

Minelson said:


> Katskitten....I'm so glad you were able to gleen info from this post. I love this forum! I'm sure your dog will be fine
> 
> UFO Chris...update?


Actually it is one of my male cats , but the post lead me to do the checking and I do agree. This forum is one of the very few that I frequent and enjoy so very much.


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## Haven

Minelson said:


> I have never heard of putting a sponge in there! That sounds very strange. When the scalpel hits it look out! The blood can blast out of there. owie.


Me either. I suppose it was supposed to pad the ear leather and prevent a new hematoma from forming if the dog kept shaking its head. But seriously, the poor thing walked around with a kitchen sponge hanging on one ear for over a month, the ear turned to cauliflower and the skin healed around the stitches holding the sponge on, which added scar tissue all over the ear too.

It was actually a large flat sponge stitched onto the length of the ear leather...


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## Minelson

Katskitten said:


> Actually it is one of my male cats , but the post lead me to do the checking and I do agree. This forum is one of the very few that I frequent and enjoy so very much.


 I was trying to figure out the TC and thought it was a dog breed that I couldn't get a grasp on lol!!! 
I had the surgery done on one of my cats. It all went real good. His ear does have some puckers in it from the stitches. I'm glad because now I can tell him a part from his twin sister :dance:


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## JanS

Very painful in our case. My daughter went to pet the dog, touched his ear and ended up needing stitches in her face. This was a teen too, not a young child being unintentionally rough.

The vet was very snippy, angry even. Said it was my fault, it was neglect because hemotomas stem from not cleaning the ears. IS that what causes it?


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## Minelson

A lot of times the dog/cat will have ear mites or an infection that is making them shake their heads frequently and forcefully and it causes the hematoma. I can not believe your vet said it was your fault. It can happen quickly...and hematomas stem from trauma. If your dog tends to get ear infections then ya, keep an eye on his ears and try to keep them clean. Not something to get scolded for. jeepers.


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## JanS

We weren't at our regular vet but an emergency hospital which, of course, hasn't had my business again. Too bad it happened back when I was too timid to speak up for myself. She was very rude. To make it worse, the dog was too old to attempt surgery so she really laid on the guilt.


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## mekasmom

Yeast infections in the ear are the most common cause of head-shaking and hematomas.


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## Katskitten

The tech at the vets the other day told us to make a mix of 1/2 hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 alcohol. Use this with cosmetic wipes to clean out the animals ears. I came home with all the ingredients and promptly cleaned the other cats ears. They also gave us drops for ear mites. So now for the next few weeks I will have a fight on my hands because two of them hate to have anything done with their ears. One even threw a temper fit after I did her ears. LOL


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## Minelson

We use equal parts Alcohol, Vinegar and Water for a homemade cleanser.


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## Ravenlost

I've had a cat and a dog have hematomas. Neither had dirty ears or ear mites. Casper (the cat) was elderly and if even a slight puff of air hit his ears he would shake his head furiously.

The dog, Drake, is a Lab and loves to swim in the pond. He would shake his head violently if he got water in his ears.

You should of thumped that vet upside the head for being so rude!


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## Katskitten

My husband brought OB Dose home this afternoon. Yesterday when we took him to the vet he serenaded us all the way out. Today he complained when he was put in the cage and then again when he was put in the truck. After that he didn't make a sound.
They put several of the drain tubes in the outside of his ear with stitches on the inside. And he's got a collar on that's driving him nuts. I've also got some antibiotics to give him.
But he looks like he'll recover and like the pain and discomfort has been greatly reduced or eliminated.


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## Minelson

good! It must have been pretty bad to require drainage tubes. I'm sure he is very unhappy wit the cone head  He will get used to it and he really needs it, especially with the tubes.


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## JanS

Ravenlost said:


> You should of thumped that vet upside the head for being so rude!


I would have but at the time I figured she knew what she was talking about. I was already feeling guilty because he was in pain and because my daughter had to go through that and might have scarring. Not a fun time.


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## ufo_chris

Hi Guys ,didn't know this was going again....
I did even more research and since it was not ,and still is not, painful ,did not get the surgery. I guess it is supposed to take 3-4 weeks to even start going down. It does seem like it is down along the edges but still big and puffy.
I wonder what makes it painful in some dogs?
What do you do for yeast infection in ear and how can you tell she has one? I know she does not have ear mites.
That vet was very rude,you should look her up and tell her she needs to do more research on what causes this. My vet said most of the time it is from them hitting it against a coffee table or something like that!
Thanks guys!
Chris


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## Ravenlost

Washing the ears with a vinegar/water solution will prevent yeasty ears.


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## ufo_chris

THANKS RAVEN!That was quick!
Chris


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## Minelson

ufo_chris said:


> I wonder what makes it painful in some dogs?


I think the pressure makes it painful. You know how it feels when you slam a finger in a door and you get a blood blister under your nail. That throbbing that continues until you poke a hole in the nail to release the pressure? I think it is similar to that.


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## mekasmom

Rubbing alcohol will also kill yeast in dog ears.


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## Haven

Minelson said:


> We use equal parts Alcohol, Vinegar and Water for a homemade cleanser.


That's the mix I use in my K9 Spa for general cleaning. I got the recipe from former vet techs who used this in their clinics.

I think it is important to mention also...I feel that once you have an ear that is staying clean, pink and healthy, you should not be cleaning it regularly. My feeling is that the chemical ear cleaners can actually throw off the balance in an already healthy ear.


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## mekasmom

We have a dog with constant hotspots and yeasty ears over and over and over and over........My chiropractor does LBA and Darkfield mircroscopy. Anyway, the LBA showed that he has a systemwide candida infection. We gave him acidophiles over his food, cut out grains, and continue to treat yeast infections as they show up. They also said to use Colloidal silver by mouth, but the dog is 150lbs and doesn't like it, so..... He just doesn't take it. Our vet does give the ear drops but it returns over and over. Hopefully the acidophiles will help. And when his ears aren't all infected, we clean them daily with rubbing alcohol to help prevent the next yeast infection. It is worse if he ever gets wet or goes into the pool.
Just wanted to let you know what the Alternative people said about recurrent yeast infections in dogs.


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## Ravenlost

Another thing to do is keep "hairy" ears trimmed. The ears need to get air so that infections don't start. We always had to keep Brawn's ears (my avatar) trimmed. He had a terrible time with allergies and yeast infections.


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## Minelson

Ravenlost said:


> Another thing to do is keep "hairy" ears trimmed. The ears need to get air so that infections don't start. We always had to keep Brawn's ears (my avatar) trimmed. He had a terrible time with allergies and yeast infections.


Great point Ravenlost! That extra hair in the ears holds in moisture and is a perfect environment for nastys to grow.


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## ufo_chris

Minelson said:


> I think the pressure makes it painful. You know how it feels when you slam a finger in a door and you get a blood blister under your nail. That throbbing that continues until you poke a hole in the nail to release the pressure? I think it is similar to that.


That makes sense but you would think it would be painful in all dogs then.
From my research it seems most cases are not painful but there are a few that are.
Maybe it's also like a bee sting ,if I get one it hurts for days and swell up like crazy, if Hubby gets one it's all over with in 30 minutes!
Thanks,Chris


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## Minelson

ufo_chris said:


> That makes sense but you would think it would be painful in all dogs then.
> From my research it seems most cases are not painful but there are a few that are.
> Maybe it's also like a bee sting ,if I get one it hurts for days and swell up like crazy, if Hubby gets one it's all over with in 30 minutes!
> Thanks,Chris


Maybe there is more pressure in some than others :shrug:


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## GrannyCarol

I've had animals with old hematomas in their ears. I don't know how uncomfortable they were when they were new (I got the animals as adults), but they weren't a problem when they were old. I had a cat get one, didn't really bother the cat, didn't go away either. I'd try the vet if the pet was in pain.


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## derm

Ear hematomas occur when a blood vessel bursts inside the ears "flap", there is no pressure their like under your skin so they blow up like a balloon. The trauma can be self done by scratching or they can bonk their ears. Most ear infections(especially dogs) occur because while we as humans have our histamines and reactive substances in our sinuses and bronchi(getting bronchitis and sinus infections in allergy season) pet have their histamines and such in their skin and ears. Thus if a pet has allergies(40% of pets, higher in certain breeds) they get itchy, then get skin and ear infections. Right now is a miserably tough allergy season. 

The surgery is recommended as it is a way to heal the ears normal anatomy with less pain and avoid infections inside the ear. Yes they will absorb the blood for the most part over time, but it is painful and the resultant ear will be a cauliflower type ear. I have seen them scar down to completely plug the ear canal and cause inner ear/brain infection. If surgery is not a financial option, you can try repeated drainage of the blood and I have seen that work about one in three times. Prevention of ear infections is the best. 

Be careful of the homemade ear cleaners. If the ear drum is ruptured you can cause a severe problem in your pet. Putting alcohol or peroxide or vinegar into a pets inflammed ear would be the same as if you poured than into your ear with an ear infection. If your pet runs from you when you have the ear cleaner it could be that it hurts them like heck. Your vet will have an ear cleanser that will not sting.


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## GoldenMom

This little dog had an ear hematoma that wasn't repaired. It isn't the greatest picture (the dog was a rescued breeder and just got spayed a couple of hours ago), but normally the tipped ear stands straight up and the crumpled ear stays crumpled. The poor dog has chronic ear problems now.


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## Katskitten

Stupid 11 year old neutered male kat of mine that we took to the vet two weeks ago for surgery, went back and got the stitches and drain things out of his ear today. Ride to the vet was uneventful as he was fairly quiet. Got him taken care of, he's got a semi cauliflower ear but not too bad. On the way home he decided to really turn on the squalling. As an experiment we decided to let him out of the cage so he could see where we were at. ( My husband's idea, BIG mistake. )
So he came out of the cage, worked his way up to the front and up on my lap, then ............ he emptied his bladder all over my leg and the seat and the console and down besides the console.

OMG we about puked!!!! The stink was nearly as bad as a skunk. :Bawling:

When we got home my husband washed down the console with Simple Green while I went and took a shower. Then we ate our subs that we had gotten while on the way home. 

Now my husband had to go out and do what he could to get the pee out of the seat and carpet, while I ran some errands. YUCK!!!!! We got some odor killing stuff and I'm hoping it works. If not we'll ....... we'll........ we'll just cry.
My big worry though is the pee got all over several accessory switches on the console. I'm hoping it didn't get inside them. If so they'll corrode and short out. Not gonna be a happy camper if that happens.

The moral of the story is: LEAVE THE  KAT IN THE CAGE!!!


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## wintrrwolf

I don't know if any here who has personally had a hematoma in their outer ear / cartilage, but I have. Yeah I know its weird and my DR has no explanation for it since mine is caused by my sinus infections backing up into my ear canal causing an infection which presents itself as a hematoma (just like a dogs) and yeah I have lanced the swelling when it gets so unbearable I can no longer stand the pain. What really helps this is funny I used my dogs epi otic or oticleans ear cleanser in my ears and then followed with sweet oil. eventually the swelled spots will reduce and it will be back to normal.
Dogs have such a higher tolerance of pain that you could simply miss the signs. Most hematoma's I have seen presented by dogs or cats (brought in to clinic) were caused by ear mites, or ear infections, and even a few abcessed teeth. It is not normal for an animal to be shaking its head often enough or hard enough to get a hematoma...meaning often enough that it slams its ear into a table or such. Treat the cause first...
oh and never let a vet snowball you into services that are not needed....


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## Haven

Another common cause that hasn't been mentioned is matting on ears. I mostly see this in Poodle mixes and other hairy breeds. When they come in with felted mats on the ears and the mats must be shaved off.. Matted fur actually constricts blood flow to the ear leather and when the hair is removed, the bloodflow rapidy returns to the ears sometimes causing the ear leather to swell up to double the normal thickness and become hot. This alone can cause itching and headshaking that may result in a hematoma on dogs with healthy and clean ear canals.

A snood can be made by cutting the foot off of panty hose and sliding it over the dogs head, to keep the ears pressed firmly against the skull until the head shaking subsides.

I have heard of people using over the counter feminine yeast creams to control yeast infections in ears, but I have never tried it personally.


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