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My dog has an ear hematoma. Are there risks if we leave it alone?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Bulldog | 10 years and 4 months old

Our dog has an aural hematoma on the tip of his ear which was caused by hitting it on our coffee table after a quick head shake. We have had it aspirated 3 times, and are now considering surgery. He is 10 years old, with 2 spinal surgeries in the past 8 months, so we were wondering if there are health risks if we leave it to resolve on it's own? We've also heard that the post surgical recovery is very painful for the dog, and that the hematoma could still come back.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 27th, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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