A few weeks ago my Chocolate Labrador developed a swelling on her right ear flap. It was a big bulge almost the size of a small fist. It was not hard but felt tight and fluid filled. We decided to take her to the vet who told us that she had a hematoma on the ear.
A hematoma is a pocket of blood under the skin. Our dog had an ear infection in the left ear, which we were already treating. Because of this she was shaking her head frequently, causing blood vessels to burst in the right ear that resulted in the big lump.
The vet prescribed antibiotics and gave us two options to treat the hematoma. We could try to keep the dog from shaking and hope that the body would absorb the blood and it would go away on its own. However, she didn’t think that was very likely. It could take a long time and the risk would be that it could get worse. The hematoma could burst, creating a bigger problem. The second option was to have surgery to open up the skin on the ear to empty the hematoma and put in a drain that would be removed later. This would also require a good amount of aftercare on our part. The most important thing was to treat the underlying issue of why she was shaking, the ear infection.
We chose to give it a few days to see if it would get better since the infection was almost gone. Another reason was that the dog is already 11 years old and we didn’t want to put her through surgery.
A few days past and it got worse. We decided to have the drain put into her ear. I have included pictures of our dog after surgery. She had to stay overnight. While she was under, we also had the vet remove a small growth under her eye. You can see the staples from that in the pictures.
Once home, she was given pain medication for the first four days and we had to put warm compresses on the ear three times a day until the drain was out. That meant wetting a washcloth with very warm water, wringing it out and folding it around the dog’s ear for a few minutes. I would rinse it and reapply. This encourages drainage. It is extremely important to make sure the dog cannot scratch or rub the ear so she had to wear an E-collar which also helps contain any drainage. The discharge instructions also stated that you cannot give your dog a bath for at least 10 days after surgery.
Our puppy is doing well but she is still wearing the E-collar until everything is completely healed to avoid any infections from scratching.
A hematoma on the ear can often leave that ear disfigured due to the stretching of the skin. If you suspect your dog may have a hematoma on the ear you should see your vet immediately to avoid any complications.
Sources:
Personal Experience
