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Hematomas are swellings produced by the accumulation of blood or serum under the skin or between layers of tissue.
Within the layers of the ear’s skin there are a countless number of vessels and tiny capillaries. Under certain conditions, these vessels and capillaries can tear or rupture and the result is bleeding within the exterior (flap) portion of the ear.
Hematomas can occur in any dog or cat but the most common occurrences are in the dog breeds that have the large, long ears. These would include Bassett Hounds, Beagles, Dachshunds, Cockers, Pointers and so on. The hematoma itself is the result of some form of trauma to the earflap. The most common form of this trauma was the animal shaking its head in a violent way. When the dog would begin shaking its head, the longer, hanging ears would whip around and pound against the dog’s body or the ground. As with any tissue that is “pounded” on, trauma sets in.
In cats and the dogs with smaller ears, the trauma would come from repeated, violent scratching of the ear area. In this instance the rear foot would be the culprit. As with any scratching or shaking of the head, there is almost always an underlying cause. Sometimes the cause would be an ear infection, flea and/or tick infestations or even what started out as a simple case of ear mites.
Ear infections themselves can be the cause of scratching, shaking or rubbing of the ears. They can, as stated, be caused by ear mites or possibly from yeast, staph, severe allergies and a host of other possibilities. Regardless of the cause, the hematomas need to be surgically repaired to prevent further problems or scarring and deformity of the ear occurring.
The best way I can describe hematomas is to have you, the reader, imagine you have two pieces of leather glued together. These represent the front and back of the earflap. If you took a syringe and filled it with fluid and used a needle to inject the fluid between the two pieces of leather, they would separate from the force of the fluid. This is exactly what the earflap does as the blood or serum that makes up the hematomas cause a pocket.
The first step in correcting ear hematomas is to place the pet under general anesthesia. Once this is done a tube is placed in the trachea for the safety of the pet. The ear is then shaved on both sides and the technician or veterinarian will then begin to clean and flush the inside of the ear canal. It is often amazing (and disgusting) the amount of bloody debris, pus, wax and parasites that can come out of a single ear. The smell isn’t anything to write home about either!
Once the ear has been cleaned well, a cotton ball will be placed inside and both sides of the earflap will be scrubbed with a surgical solution. The doctor then uses a scalpel to cut into the ear on inner side of the earflap. This cut will run downward not side-to-side.
After the initial rush of liquid, the dissected area of the ear will then be cleaned of all blood clots. Once this is finished, he or she will cut a small strip from each side of the incision. Then laying the ear as flat as possible, a needle and some type of suture material is used to tack the two sides of the ear to each other. The strips cut from the incision site will ensure the sides of the incision don’t close but remain separated for drainage of any further bleeding. Finally the cotton in the ear would be removed, some more used to dry the ear canal as much as possible and the dog would be allowed to wake up. It usually goes home that day with orders to come back in ten days for removal of the sutures.
The best prevention to hematomas in companion animals is a routine checking and cleaning of the pet’s ears. For those that don’t know how to clean your pet’s ears properly, most veterinarians are more than happy to take five minutes for client education.
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