my dog has tumor and a hematoma???

Question
Hi, i recently took my chow chow to the vet because we discovered a big "bubble" on her right ear. it was pretty big and squishy, but has gone down since, the vet said if surgery wasn't performed then she'd get cauliflower ears. About 3 months ago i discovered a bump on her head and that was big and gradually went down, the doctor said it looked like a tumor because of its dark color and said surgery is required, i just want to know if it is necessary and if so how much would something like that cost me. If she doesn't get the surgery will she still live for quite some time or will she die sooner than what she is expected to live? thank you for your time.

Answer
Any type of injury contracts as it heals.  In the ear flap, if this happens, the ear cartilage and skin crinkle (cauliflower ear). That's why we like to fix them as soon as it happens. By itself, that is not harmful, it just looks weird. Sometimes there is so much distortion that the contraction can seal off the ear canal.  That can be serious.

Aural hematomas result usually from ear infections that cause violent shaking of the head. So whether you have the hematoma fixed or not, there is an ear infection that needs to be dealt with.

As far as charges, I use a laser to do my surgery and it is usually about $250 with everything.  It is a lot of work opening the ear, cleaning out all of the fibrin, suturing the ear, bandaging it, follow up care and suture removal.