Maggie might need a Total Ear Canal Ablation
 

Maggie had a Lateral Ear Resection last year to help with her ongoing ear infections. Unfortunatley the surgery didn't help and she still suffers from bacterial and yeast infections.

Medication doesn't help and it breaks my heart as often as she has one of her 'attacks' where she desperately tries to get rid of the pain and itching by scratching her ear until it bleeds.

The only help I can give her is holding her, keeping her from scratching and cooling her ear. She is so miserable then and the 'attacks' get more and more often sometimes once or twice a day.

We were told already when she had her first surgery that she might have to have a Total Ear Canal Ablation where the whole inner ear is removed.

My question is if anybody here has experience with that kind of surgery and would share it with me?

Thank you so much!

I do hope someone can help you with this. I work with someone who has a cocker spaniel with severe ear infection issues. It would be nice to share some info with them.

Sonja...I feel so bad for Maggie. I just emailed you a recipe for some ear wash that is supposed to work miracles. Do you still have the same email...Pocomutt Designs? That's where I sent it. Let me know if you have a different email addy since you moved. Get well wishes to Maggie.

That would be great! My email addy is sonja@pocomutt.com

Thank you so much!

I have no info, but I wanted to say I am so sorry and I hope Maggie will be ok.
Sending prayers and lots of love:hug::hug:

oh Sonja it must be just horrible to see her in so much pain. I hope it gets all fixed soon!

Oh Sonja, I am so sad to hear this. I hope you can get her some relief from this ablation and you know if you need anything, let me know

My heart hurts when I know any of your babies hurt. Maggie had come such a long way since you got her in January '08. I want to see her as ahppy as she deserves to be.

give her a hug from all of us.

Oh the poor girl. That has to be so painful. I hope someone can help you with info on the proposed surgery

I'm sorry i didn't see this sooner. If a TECA was recommended then I highly recommend you get it done as soon as possible. You and Maggie will be so happy you had it done. She will be pain free the rest of her live after that surgery. TECAs are recommended for dogs and cats that have had horrible ear problems their whole life. The dog is in terrible pain from the constant ear infections. Make sure you have an excellent board certified surgeon to do this surgery. I would never let my regular vet do this. It can be a very complicated surgery and things can go wrong if the vet isn't 100% sure of what they are doing. I say this not to scare you but to let you know the seriousness of this procedure.

The surgery is unfortunately very painful. Maggie should stay in hospital overnight hooked up to a pain drip IV, along with having a fentanyl patch, and oral pain meds to go home with. They can typically go home the next day, however i the vet recommends an extra day in hospital then i would agree to it. They are only trying to make the dog more comfortable with pain meds. Also there will be a drain placed next to the ear for excess fluid to leave the cavity. The drain will be leaking for a few days, moreso for the first two days. If there is alot of drainage its just easier to stay in hospital so the drainage doesn't get all over the house. The drain stays in for 3 days, sutures stay in for 10-14 days. When the dog goes home the ear is still extremely sensitive. The drain and incision area will need to be kept clean so you will need to gently wipe the area with warm water a few times a day. Do not let the drain area clog up. so clean around the drain directly to keep the area open and blood/clot/bacteria free. the incision may drain a bit too so keep that area clean as well. I say to clean gently because this is a sensitive area and your dog may bite you if you cause them pain, despite the fact that they have never ever attempted to bite you in the past.

So for at least a week the ear will be sensitive. By the time the dog goes to get all the sutures removed they are usually not in any pain. I've removed sutures with absolutely no probablems with pain. After this point the dog is as happy as can be. They are pain free and will remain that way in that ear for the rest of their life.

There are other complications with this surgery so make sure the vet explains them to you in detail. The surgery can cause paresis of the facial nerve causing decreased to no blink reflex and lip droop. It can also cause a head tilt, and would infection. Personally with the surgeons I worked with, I have never seen any permanent complications with this surgery unless the dog's ear was so bad the dog was already showing complication signs prior to surgery. Sometimes after surgery the blink reflex is slow so we apply artificial tears to lubricate the eye and after a day or two they are back to normal.

As far as hearing goes they usually aren't hearing so well before surgery because of the infections so after surgery they hear about the same. They do not become totally deaf, though they may try to play it off like they are. LOL

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you so much for your in depth info on the TECA!!! I really appreciate it!

Fortunately Maggie doesn't need it b/c it's allergies that make her ear flop itch and she is now on a trial diet of rabbit and potato to figure out if it's a food allergy or an environmental one.

Thanks again!

Hopefully it can be fixed with a change in diet. However, even allergies can cause enough ear problems to warrent a TECA in the future. I hope you are able to figure out what is plaguing her before it gets to that point. she will be so much better off.