The cavity can be injected once daily with dexamethasone (a short acting steroid), or weekly with methylprednisolone acetate (a long acting steroid) until the hematoma resolves.Īnimals treated with daily intracavitary injections of dexamethasone usually heal within 3-6 days. Your veterinarian will help you decide which treatment is best for your dog.Ĭonservative treatment involves drainage and flushing of the hematoma through a small incision or with a large needle, and administration of corticosteroids by mouth or into the hematoma cavity. Steroids should never be given to dogs that are receiving medication such as Rimadyl or Deramaxx for arthritis or other painful conditions, since dogs on these drugs are more prone to gastrointestinal ulcers and upset. Medical management requires the use of steroids to reduce pain and inflammation and to control the underlying cause of the ear canal irritation. Surgery will rapidly reduce the size of the fluid pocket, but may result in some disfigurement and usually requires 2-3 weeks of bandaging or drain care. Treatment of aural hematomas can either be medical or surgical. Allergies to food or reaction to chemicals in the environment may be underlying causes in many dogs. Because head shaking is thought to be the underlying traumatic event that leads to hemorrhage, ear and skin examinations should be performed by a veterinarian on all affected animals to rule out or diagnose predisposing conditions. Not all dogs and cats that have aural hematomas have ear infections in fact, between 15% and 45% of affected animals may have no evidence of external ear canal disease. Although pressure building up under the skin will stop the bleeding, continued head shaking will cause the pocket to enlarge until it becomes a very noticeable and sometimes uncomfortable. Vigorous head shaking in animals with external ear canal irritation causes the tiny vessels that perforate the internal cartilage to rupture and bleed. The same sort of problem can occur in your dog, whether or not he participates in such rough extracurricular activities.Īural hematoma, the underlying source of "cauliflower ear," is a collection of bloody fluid under the skin or between the cartilage layers of the pinna the upright or floppy skin appendage above the ear canal.Īural hematomas are thought to be secondary to trauma. Trauma from grabbing, flipping, twisting, and even (*gasp*) biting resulted in swelling and occasionally ear deformity in more than one young man. As a high school coach and referee for Big 10 college wrestling matches, my dad saw a lot of cauliflower ears.
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