Some bloody fluid is expected to drain from the aural haematoma site in the first 1 to 3 days following the surgery. The affected ear should be checked daily for persistent swelling, discharge or loss of sutures. There are usually a number sutures present on the affected ear - it is helpful to count the number of stitches present when your pet first goes home with you, so that you will know if any goes missing before the sutures are ready to be removed. Your veterinarian will pick the surgical method of choice (S-incision with sutures, penrose drain/cannula placement or aural haematoma pad) that best suits your pet's ear conformation. There are many different surgical methods that may be used to manage aural haematomas, and these methods appear to be equally effective. The surgical site is located on the hairless aspect of the ear flap. You may also find that the underside of their paw may have been shaved - this allowed the placement of blood pressure monitoring equipment, so that we could monitor their progress under anaesthesia closely. Some bruising to this area may be seen when they go home with you however, if this persists beyond 72 hours, please give us a call at the clinic. The shaved area on your pet's front or back legs is the IV injection and/or IV catheter site. If your pet is discharged on the same day that he/she had surgery, they may still be a little bit drowsy after they go home with you. There may also be some irritability or incoordination during this initial 24-hour period immediately after the surgery. Surgery is considered more likely to definitively treat the condition with good cosmetic results.Post-Surgery Care Instructions for Pets Following Aural Haematoma Surgery What to ExpectĪfter coming home from the clinic, your pet should be kept in a warm, dry, quiet and ideally indoor location in the 24 hours following discharge. This study describes the relative popularity and perceived success of treatments used for aural haematoma in the dog. Cosmetic results with medical management were excellent and with surgical treatment were good.
Recurrent haematoma was treated more commonly with surgery (67%) than that of the initial presentation. The most common reason to select a particular treatment was previous success (76%).
#AURAL HAEMATOMA IN DOG PLUS#
Surgical procedures included linear incision with sutures alone (35%) or sutures plus stents (24%) and an S-shaped incision with sutures (23%). On initial presentation, treatments included needle drainage with local deposition of corticosteroids (43%), surgery (29%) and needle drainage without corticosteroids (16%).
Totally 312 email addresses were invalid, 259 questionnaires were completed (12♵% response rate) and 251 were included in analysis.
Questions investigated treatment selection for initial and repeat presentations of aural haematoma in dogs and their opinion of treatment success to prevent recurrence and for good cosmesis. Totally 2386 emails were sent to veterinary surgeons and practices inviting them to complete an online survey. To survey the current treatment techniques of aural haematomas in dogs and investigate veterinary opinion regarding treatment success.