Client dog has a fat ear, Doc wants to cut.....would love to hear pros and cons......
Thanks! BB

Yes, cut and stitch like a quilt. It's the only way to avoid further damage and the ear will look good as new when it's healed :)

That's what we did also. There was not even a visible scar!

I have had this twice. I did not have the surgery either time. One turned out great. The other one ended up with a cauliflower ear.

Besides surgery, you can also try an injection of pred. directly into the hematoma. Be it surgery or an injection of a steroid, there is always a chance of cauliflower ear after complete healing.

The pred. worked for a girl of mine at age 6. She had multiple health problems and we preferred not to put her under anesthesia. She already had mild cauliflower ear from the repeated hematomas which sometimes occurred overnight from apparently severe head shaking. No kennel here but I never heard the overnight shaking 3 rooms away.

The cauliflower ear did get worse after her one time only injection in each ear. Our vet felt the same would have happened with surgery.

The hematomas never appeared again in her lifetime, almost 8 years after the pred. injections. So we accomplished what we wanted to, relieved her of hematomas.

As far as I know, surgery or a pred injection in the correct spot are the only 2 options. Make sure your vet has done whichever you choose many times and is experienced at doing either procedure. If not, go see a specialist known for caring for hematomas often with success.

I have had 3 labs with ear hematomas

one girl had surgery 2 times, the 2nd time, they did zig zag stitches, and it worked.

another girl, (approximately 11) had a hematoma, and it went away with no surgery

a male (age 12) also had a hematoma, and put a little otamax on it, and it went away with no surgery.

believe it or not, i prayed for my older labs because i did not want them to go thru surgery at their age, and the hematomas went away with no surgery, within a month or so, and no damage to the ears

I had a girl with one once. She had the surgery where they stitch it like a quilt. Healed up fine - you couldn't tell by looking at her, but if you felt the ear flap with your hand, you could feel the scar tissue in there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vyncXPwyT4

Surgery for a hematoma on You Tube.

ditto on the success with the through and through surgery.... have seen cut up iv tubing used as well as buttons to not make the sutures lie to tight...no cauliflower ears with this procedure.....