Ear Hematoma

Question
Hi,

I read a bit on this on the web, but my lab cross has a hematoma that I have already had drained.  The vet says he has allergies as well and put him on prednisone and antibiotics.  The vet wants to do the surgery, and I'm thinking he's right, but the problem is that I just can't afford it.  I have 4 kids, 3 jobs and ya, things are a bit tight.  I opted for the drainage, antibiotics, steroids, new hypoallergenic diet and cone for his head in hopes that if he couldn't get at it maybe it would get better.  I have read that an alternate approach is to drain it and bandage his pinna to the top of his head.  I wish I would have read this earlier, because since it has been drained it has slowly but surely been refilling.  I have had a brainstorm that if I take a kneehigh stocking and cut the toe out of it, slip it over his head and clip it so that his good ear is still free, this will effectively and comfortably hold his ear to the top of his head and still allow for proper ventilation.  Unfortunately this brainstorm has come a bit late.  I don't suppose there is any possibility that this fluid will go away on it's own with the rest of the antibiotics and keeping his ear immobile?  Is there anything else I can try on my own?  I've already paid for the meds and treatment thus far, which I'm not sure how I'm going to cover, but I can't possibly come up with the $600.00 for the ear surgery.  If I go and get the ear re-drained do you think with my stocking-bandage that there is any possibility that it would heal naturally?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on this.  I love my dog a great deal, and I don't want my other circumstances to affect his health, but there has to be something that I can do.  I wonder what people in the olden days before vet clinics did about this for instance?

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Lori.

Answer
Hi Lori,

The pocket where the hematoma collects fluid refills quite rapidly. You needed to keep the pocket draining until the vessels inside healed up. Is it possible for you to "milk the fluid" from the hematoma each day (or twice a day, if necessary), so the hematoma doesn't fill again?

I can't say if your ear compression stocking idea would work. Why not call your vet and ask him or her. A phone call for follow-up advice is free. Your vet is the real expert here.

If the hematoma is filling with fluid again, and you're unable to help it drain, then you should contact your vet, before the hematoma gets large. When you first notice that ear swelling, rapid treatment will result in a much faster and simpler healing process than if you wait until the entire pinna is involved.

Does your dog have a yest infection in her ear which causes her to do a lot of head shaking? The under lying cause of the trauma which caused the hematoma to form needs to be addressed. That said, new evidence suggests that many of these hematomas are immune-mediated.  This means that the body's defense system has gone a little haywire and attacked its own blood vessels, causing the damage that blows up these ears.  What this means in practical terms is that if you suppress the body's defenses long enough for it stop this self-attack, the hematoma may heal without any surgery or drainage at all.
You should talk to your vet about this possibility.

Talk to your vet regarding a payment schedule if it would help you better afford the treatment or if surgery is required.

Best of luck,
Patti

PS. Since you asked, in olden days, before modern treatments, the dog would develop a large "cauliflower" growth on it's ear.
Failure to treat a hematoma can lead to enlargement of the swelling to encompass the entire ear flap. Also, scar tissue formation within the hematoma will result in a severely wrinkled, thickened ear flap that will predispose the dog to further ear problems.