I have two dogs that both have recurring ear infections.  One is certainly caused by allergies and sensitivities - he's been blood tested and has monthly injections to treat his severe allergies but management of his skin and ears is a day to day operation involving diet and hygiene.  He fairly recently had pseudomonas, an ear flush and antibiotics but now has another infection and the original treatment (prescribed after the last swab analysis) isn't proving effective.  He's been back for another ear swab and the vet has again raised the subject of surgery.  Having previously rejected it as too extreme I'm now doing some research to see if this might be an option for him.  His ears are currently so painful that he cries if we touch them - although I know he's being stoic and will let me clean and treat them as often as I need to.

The other dog is going for his swabs on Wednesday too and I'll talk to the vet in more detail then about which surgery she is proposing.  I'm not yet ready to consider it for the younger dog but my 5 year old could be a candidate once I've satisfied myself about the risks and benefits.

On that front I'm trying to do as much reading as possible and I've noticed a vet that calls itself a referral centre (The Willows in Solihull).  When do you go to a specialist vet and how do you identify the right one?  My vets are excellent and have very good hospital facilities but in this instance I'd be keen to go somewhere that has a lot of experience of this type of surgery (I've yet to ask my vets about their experience in this field but want to get a head start before we open the dialogue).  Can any of you help me in my research and decision making please?  I'm feeling a bit divided about the best course of action.  Thank you

Winnie had TECA surgery to both ears (although the ears were operated on one month apart). The operations were carried out by my own vet who I trust 100%, so I'd say before you go for referrals see what experience your own vet has with this type of surgery. It is quite intricate surgery and took about 3 hours for each ear, which is why he insisted on doing the ears individually.

I have no regrets at all and Winnie is free of infection and pain. She can still hear (when she wants to!) and to look at her you'd never know she'd had anything done.

If you want any more info just let me know.

Thanks Pedlee - positive experiences are what I dearly want to hear (although I'm expecting some negative ones too).  I'll probably come back with some questions for you after I've talked to my vet next week.  Thank you xx

Can't really help re the ear questions but I was referred to the willows for orthopaedic surgery for one of my past clumbers,they were excellent and well worth going for the specialist provision. My vets also have great hospital provision,but they specialise in areas other than orthopaedics.  Glad I was heavily insured though..!

Pedlee

A quick update: the vet is recommending Vertical Canal Ablation.  I'm still waiting on swab results as we'd probably need to clear some infection first, but in the meantime I'm doing some additional reading before making any decisions.

My vets advice on the major risk is that you're asking two sections of skin (that wouldn't normally meet) to knit together which can be problematic.

I'm still getting my head around the process  :)

What breed are the dogs?

I had to wait for Winnie's ears to be infection-free before the surgery could be carried out. I'm not familiar with the VCA op, but does it still leave an opening? With Win's TECA there is no opening at all. If you want to see the result I could take a couple of photo's and send to you (PM me an e-mail address).

Both her resulting wounds healed really well, the only side effect she suffered was facial nerve damage with the first one resulting in an eye that couldn't blink. For a month or so I had to apply artificial tears and gradually her eye returned to normal, and like I said to look at her now you really wouldn't know she'd had anything done. Having long, floppy ears probably helps (although they caused the problem in the first place!).

Karen x

You've got the Royal Veterinary College just up the road at Langport.  As a teaching faculty they have top men (and ladies of course!) in all areas and I would certainly trust them with mine. :)
My experience, with other peoples' dogs is that they are no more expensive than GP Vets.