If your baby has been diagnosed with an aural hematoma, or you think they might have one, please contact us right away to book an exam and time for the repair. Our veterinary team provides compassionate care before, during, and after surgery to ensure that your pet is safe and comfortable. For these reasons, we recommend surgery as the treatment of choice. As the underlying cause has not been diagnosed or treated, your pet is just as likely (if not more so) to have another bout with hematomas again. Furthermore, as the untreated ear heals, the space where the blood clot was will scar down, usually causing the ear flap to crinkle and fold (which makes them more likely to have future infections). During this long process though, your pet will be in discomfort. If an aural hematoma was left alone, it would eventually be broken down and reabsorbed by the body. If you and your vet choose to go this route, expect to be draining the ear every other day or so for at least a few visits. Larger hematomas and seromas may need to be drained by your veterinarian. Treatment If small, the hematoma or seroma may reabsorb and resolve without intervention. The stitches we place help close the dead space and prevent the ear from filing up again, but simply draining it does not. Hematomas and seromas in internal organs or in the brain/head may require special imaging (X-ray, ultrasound, MRI or CT scan) for diagnosis. Draining the ear will help temporarily, but in the vast majority of cases, the hematoma will return in a day or two. We will discuss the underlying cause and talk about how to treat and prevent that problem as well. You will need to keep the Elizabethan collar (aka cone of shame) on to prevent any more scratching while the ear heals. An ear hemotoma in dogs is the collection of blood between the dogs skin and the ear cartilage. What happens when I bring my pet back home? In addition to treating the hematoma, we will be looking for the cause by flushing and scoping the ear canal. This also promotes controlled scar tissue, which decreases the chances of having another hematoma in the same ear. The empty space left where the blood clot was (called dead space) is removed by placing multiple stitches through the skin and cartilage. During the procedure, we will drain the blood through several small holes. It’s best to have the hematoma treated as soon as possible to minimize discomfort to your pet and to prevent permanent disfiguration of the ear. Dogs with long floppy ears are more prone to this problem, but it can occur in any dog, and we’ve even seen it happen in a cat. Excessive head shaking (from an ear infection or allergies), scratching, or bite wounds can all cause an ear hematoma. The hematoma occurs when a blood vessel in the ear bursts and leads to blood stretching and filling the space between the skin and cartilage. A hematoma is a localized swelling from blood leaking into a confined area or organ, in this case, the ear flap.
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