Came down this morning to find Otto with one ear 'cocked' which on closer inspection found to be cauliflower ear, not too large at the moment & fingers crossed hasn't got any bigger since midday. Vet has suggested to leave for a couple of days to see if it subsides or stabilises before draining, dosen't seem to pain him but unfortunately a dog that needs his ears cleaned every couple of days & with present swelling can't. Any suggestions or experience that would help, cold compress, anything?

I would get it sorted rather than leave it .

I

Hi, certainly won't leave it, just hoping it might settle & can be drained. Surgery is an option but not keen for another GA & from experience three weeks in a collar, soft or elizabethan is more traumatic than an op!  Just wondered if there was anything I could do to help.

Does he have a haematoma (fluid or blood filled swelling on the inside)?

Do I see Bassett Hound?  Very common when they shake their heads and their heavy pendulous ears hit their heads with great force and cause a haematoma!

It sometimes happens when matted OES have to be clipped off and they do the same because they're not used to feeling the air in their ears.

I was taught to lay both ears on top of the head, put a large wadge of cotton wool on the ear canal and using an elasticated bandage, bandage the ears not too tightly but firmly enough to encourage drainage and no more swelling, removing the bandage to inspect every 12 hours. 

I have done it at my Vets surgery this year and it avoided surgery, which pleased both Vet and owner, but I wouldn't suggest that you do it without talking to your Vet about it.  Mine had never seen it done before but yours might.  :)

> Does he have a haematoma (fluid or blood filled swelling on the inside)?

Hi, vet is saying it's blood & as only swollen in the last 24 hours that if drained today in all likelihood continue to bleed. It's situated on the underside, in the centre just where the ear joins his skull so the swelling has partly closed the canal opening if that makes sense. He's also been on AB's for over two weeks.

> It's situated on the underside, in the centre just where the ear joins his skull so the swelling has partly closed the canal opening if that makes sense.

Ouch. Poor lad.
I was reading up on haematomas only yesterday as one of mine (prick eared breed) has a small fluid filled swelling in the centre of his ear, not near the canal thankfully. He hasn't been scratching his ears so I can only think it's due to trauma - result of a tiff with another dog. I will get a vet to look at it, but I don't want to go down the GA route unless it's completely unavoidable. From what I have read though, site of the swelling and size in other dogs might mean that's indicated.

> Do I see Bassett Hound?

Yes, he has always had particularly sensitive ears any wax/dirt causes him to shake. Have managed to keep him free of any infections & probs by dealing with them daily & the help of Thornit. Yesterday took to my bed & forgot his ears (a rare occurance) & came down this morning to find him looking very odd. Will talk to his vet re your suggestion (thank you). He's had more than his fair share of problems past & ongoing & I know no dog like a collar, but BH's are h*ll, I end up taking them off & having them with me 24hrs a day.

I had a Golden who got a heamatoma on his ear 3 times -two on one ear actually, one on the other. (I.e. it came back on the first ear.) It was drained and it was a LOT of hassle. Wasn't stitched. Leaked for weeks. Then I had another Golden who got one and at first I decided to leave it as usually the worst thing that happens is that the ear becomes permanently thickened (that's when it is called cauliflower ear) -the very first Malinois I ever met had one, so the ear tip was bent. But for some reason it was decided to treat it, can't even remember why, and it was cut, drained and stitched with a bit left in the middle like a canal (for want of a better word) and again what a total NIGHTMARE. It had to be kept as open as possible to drain for weeks, and the blood went everywhere when the dog moved his head and it bothered him a lot more than the haematoma ever did. His ear was full of scars for the rest of his life. I'd think not just once or twice but ten times before I put a dog through it again.

From the vet sites it seems that the swelling can be aspirated, left alone, or operated on under GA..
I am guessing that's hugely dependent on the dog, its breed, the size of the haematoma, its location, and so on and so forth.

> I'd think not just once or twice but ten times before I put a dog through it again

Thanks for that Marianne. Mine is nearer your breed than Lacy's - and that does have a bearing as the ear structure is completely different - so I will have it looked at and probably decide to leave it. Worst that could happen is his ear has a cute tilt afterwards, but not necessarily so, due to its structure, placement and the cartilage strength at its location. It is also fluid-filled rather than blood, if that makes any difference.

Sending you good thoughts Lacy :)

Thank you all, advised by vet it 'could' if we're lucky reabsorb (if that's the right word), I might get some large tubigrip tomorrow and see if I can get him to wear it like a snood & keep his ear up over his head, can but try. Unfortunately with needing to keep his ears aired & clean surgery might have to be an option (God forbid) as am unable to clean the ear canal with the swelling.

Must be difficult with such large ears, and in the worst possible place as well. :( I know I was adviced to try to reduce the swelling by applying icepacks several times a day 'but that was easier said than done unfortunately. Fingers crossed.

Worst that could happen is his ear has a cute tilt afterwards,

Yes that's what happened to the first Mali I knew. He lived with it for many years and it never seemed to bother him.

> Worst that could happen is his ear has a cute tilt afterwards,

LOL, he is sooo unique anyway, shouldn't say this but he's had so many probs never thought he would get this far, professionals included! So a cute tilt is the least of his worries!!!

> I was adviced to try to reduce the swelling by applying icepacks several times a day

Yes, sorry missed this at first reading, will try though don't know how he will tolerate it but he's a very patient & amenable boy. Just another excuse to be hard of hearing!!!

> Yes, sorry missed this at first reading, will try though don't know how he will tolerate it but he's a very patient & amenable boy. Just another excuse to be hard of hearing!!!

Sounds like if it is going to interfere with his ear canal opening, then they might want to go down a surgical route. Really hope not... But if he is that amenable then the ice packs would help, I think.  I wouldn't get within a foot of mine with anything remotely resembling an ice pack! lol

When one of my dogs had a haematoma I was advised not to apply heat or cold in isolation.  In order to be effective you need to apply them one after another - which is more than our dogs can probably cope with and is only really effective if done as soon as the haematoma starts to form.  Do not massage the area either - this is oft quoted advice which can make the problem worse.

My vet had a lot of experience with this issue as one of her dogs suffered quite regularly - she told me just to keep my dog calm (as much as that is possible) which included no exercise and on lead for a garden wee - and just to wait and see.  After 24 - 36 hours you should start to see what direction it's taking and your vet will be able to advise further.

My dogs ears stopped swelling quite quickly but the excess fluid took a few weeks to go down properly.  Even now years later I can still feel which ear it was - although I'm not sure anyone else would be able to tell.  I hope yours is good news too :)

By the way - mine was the dog who also has other ear problems like yours.  My vet told me to simply put the ear cleaner in, even if I couldn't wipe the ear canal very easily, or massage properly, the cleaner would still do part of the job and be better than nothing.  Do check though as it may depend on what cleaner you are using.  I would do it with my mild cleaners but not Cleanaural which is quite a strong one

> My dogs ears stopped swelling quite quickly but the excess fluid took a few weeks to go down properly.

That's great advice for me, thank you :) I've already noticed it is less hot and red than it was yesterday. It's just a small lump but it did freak me out when I found it.

Just found this thread. Our GR Flinti developed a large aural haematoma last year. I took him to the vet and having checked him out for ear infection etc it was decided that the fluid should be aspirated. Poor Flinti, several unpleasant trips to the vet to have a large bore needle inserted in his ear . Well, not much success ensued, indeed I felt all the poking around was making him worse . He completed a course of antibiotics and I just let nature take its course, which it did and two months later Flinti had a slightly dishevelled looking ear but fluid had dissipated.
A few weeks later, my old BC, Tag, developed the same so I did nothing and that got better naturally. Flinti has just  developed one this week . It isn't causing him any pain so I'm going to leave well alone.
All I would say is that these haematomas develop when the dog shakes it's head and bursts one of the tiny blood vessels within the ear flap . So, it is necessary to exclude infection within the ear which would have caused pain/irritation hence the head shaking. We've had a real problem with ear mites this year in some of the dogs. Thornit powder has been a Godsend

dogs a babe, thank you. Haematoma hasn't got any larger since yesterday, haven't massaged it & can't think why anyone should think it helps. Did make him a snood this morning - in attempt to keep the ear up - out of elasticated bandage but although 'snug' the ear just slips slowly down under its own weight!
Know occasionally one has to be cruel to be kind but gave up using commercial ear cleaners years ago. The dogs loathed them, only had to reach for a bottle & they ran away to hide! Fortunately if I'm careful can just about get a finger into the canal so hoping that I can keep his ear clean & aired for a few days in hope the swelling reduces. In exasperation to do something last evening & this morning, applied arnica cream. Fortunately it doesn't seem to irritate him, so keeping finger crossed.
Had to laugh this morning as his ear reminded me of a trafficator!!

out of elasticated bandage but although 'snug' the ear just slips slowly down under its own weight!

Yes you have to put it on quite firmly to make it stay in place, plus to stop it swelling anymore.  But it sounds like you've stopped swelling - now just needs to be elevated.

>you have to put it on quite firmly to make it stay in place

Thank you WestCoast will try again, It's just that with the amount of pressure required to keep the ear up think I'll end up throttling him.