What to do for an older dog's ear hematoma if surgery isn't an option?

It's possible that it will go away on its own in the next 2-4 weeks, but there will be some scar tissue that builds-up under the skin - maybe like the other ear appears. It's also possible that it will grow to fill the whole ear, or get infected. If it grows and/or is not going down in the next 2-4 weeks, then it's best to take Opal back to the vet. The vet will be able to drain it and can do a different procedure to keep it from swelling back up again (these often swell back up after they are drained). The steroid injections only work in about 70% of the cases and unfortunately it didn't work for Opal. There is really not much you can do for this at home that is very effective. You can try applying ice to the ear for 15 minutes 2-3 times daily and can also attempt to bandage it, so it's not continually being shaken. Below is a link to a good video that shows how to bandage the ear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQ0JopKfY0 I hope that helps and Opal gets better soon.

Surgery is the "gold standard" for addressing aural hematomas. Draining it with a needle and syringe may provide a quick fix, but more often than not the ear refills with blood. Allowing it to resolve without treatment may take weeks and could lead to a deformed ear flap. Surgery can be done to clean out the clotted blood and stop the bleeding. A specific suture pattern is used to keep the ear flap from refilling and in shape. The underlying cause, usually ear infection, should be addressed as well to prevent excessive head shaking.

I'm sorry that Remy had a hematoma in his ear! Unfortunately, there is really nothing you can do at home to treat this problem - it will eventually go away on its own, but this can take several weeks in some cases and may cause some scarring or disfigurement of the ear. I do not recommend attempting to drain it at home, as this often introduces infection and makes the problem worse. Your vet can surgically repair the hematoma, or may prescribe a steroid or other medication to help it heal faster if you opt not to do surgery - so it would be a good idea to take Remy Martin in for an exam if you are able to. In many cases, affected dogs also have an ear infection or other underlying problem that needs to be diagnosed and treated as well.

I'm so sorry that Julia has this problem (and she is adorable BTW). Aural hematomas typically never resolve completely on their own. If left untreated (i.e. undrained) eventually the blood that's trapped between the skin and the cartilage of the ear will be reabsorbed, assuming the ear infection (which is causing the head shaking and thus the hematoma) is properly treated. However, typically this leaves a scarred ear, something called a cauliflower ear, and this can be avoided with proper treatment. First, make sure that the medication that has been prescribed is going to appropriately treat the ear infection. That means a vet needs to do a cytology (microscopic evaluation) of the debris inside the ear. Most ear infections are fungal in nature, and need antifungal treatments to completely resolve. Then talk to the vet about draining the blood inside the ear. This may resolve the problem completely, but be prepared that Julia may need surgery to reattach the cartilage to the skin and resolve the hematoma for good.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are a variety of ways to treat an ear hematoma in dogs (oral medications, draining it and instilling a medication, or a surgical "tacking", as well as determining what the underlying cause for the hematoma is). They do need to be treated by a veterinarian, as they do not typically resolve on their own, and can become very painful/infected. After treatment, the ear may be the same, or it may have a "crinkled" appearance. I would recommend your dog be evaluated by a veterinarian to determine what treatment plan would be best. Good luck!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. So sorry Sarge is having this issue. You are correct, the recovery from the hematoma surgery is long - like 3 to 4 weeks - and the hematoma can return. I would not consider the surgery or the post-op portion to be overly painful, just very uncomfortable. There is no way to know what will happen unfortunately. It would be great if we all had crystal balls! Hematomas will often resolve on their own if they are small. If the hematoma is large then it is less likely and surgery is needed. Hematomas do take a long time to resolve on their own (usually months). Of course it will never resolve if he keeps traumatizing the ear by shaking his head or scratching at it. If this is a problem, you may want to consider getting him an ear sock (SurgiSox) to protect the earflap. It looks a bit silly but it really helps. ( https://www.dogleggs.com/surgi-sox-aural-compression-bandage/ ) I would not say there are any health risks associated with leaving it alone to see if it will resolve on it's own. Personally, I would try the sock for a few weeks and see what happens. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I also have seen people leave them be to eventually absorb. However I would not recommend doing this to your pet because it does cause them discomfort and there is a risk of having pressure necrosis develop on the ear flap. I would also not recommend draining this yourself because this requires making a cut in the ear flap and often a mild sedative is needed for the pet to tolerate a procedure like this. Also if there is an infection then antibiotics will be needed in addition. The best advice is to let your vet drain this area at the clinic/hospital. You can place a cold compress on the ear flap, if allowed, to help reduce the blood pooling for now and then get Bear seen by your vet as soon as you can. Best wishes with Bear and his ear hematoma. I hope everything works out well for her. Take care.