Mass below ear/in ear - YorkieTalk.com Forums

dryoasis88 · 10-14-2011, 10:12 AM

Hi all,

I was hoping to keep this issue in the health/diet section as I thought it was just something simple, but it is looking like a more major concern. For background please see this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ce-issues.html

I took Hepburn to the vet on Wednesday because he was acting strange. He was yelping randomly, scratching his ear, tilting his head and not wanting to play as usual. He was, however, eating, drinking, peeing and pooping normally, as well as greeting people and other dogs like he normally does (excited and jumpy). The vet looked at his ears and teeth and told me it looked a bit red in his ears but otherwise he was fine. She checked his heart rate and breathing and agreed again, all is good. She gave me some ear cleaning solution and sent me home.

Today things got a bit more complicated. While I was massaging his ear cleaning solution into his ears like I was told to, I felt that his one ear, the one that had been bothering him, was larger on the bottom than the other. There was a hardish mass (not like swelling, harder, but not as hard as the rest of the bottom of the ear) at the bottom of his ear. It wasn't so big, but enough to feel the difference. I was concerned, but his behavior had improved and I figured it might just be a lymph node or that his ears were always like that and I never noticed.

When I arrived home from work tonight (I was gone roughly 4-5 hours) I took him out and realized that he was acting more strange that he had on Wednesday. He was tilting his head all the time, and whimpering. Upon looking in his ear to see what was going on, I can see that the growth is now also inside his ear and it is almost closed shut! It wasn't bigger than a dime this morning under his ear so I am naturally quite concerned.

He is still eating, drinking, peeing and pooping normal, and he will play if I really get him excited (which is much harder to do than normal). He also greeted the two dogs who live in my building with lots of energy and no signs of pain. I am just concerned that if this is growing so fast that I should take him in to the emergency hours at my vet tonight. If you call out of the normal hours, they will connect you to a vet on call and they will come in if it is an emergency. I am not really sure that it is though... I can also take him at 10am tomorrow during their regular hours.

I am very concerned and just hoping that it is something non-serious and they can take care of it tomorrow rather than taking him tonight and having to pay a huge fee for an emergency visit. He is really acting strange, shaking, whimpering and he will barely let me touch him. He wants to be curled up in the corner all the time. I am just beside myself at what I should do or if I can do anything to keep him comfortable till morning. (It is after 8pm here already, just for reference).

Any help or even just prayers/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has had a similar experience, what did you?

Ellie May · 10-14-2011, 10:22 AM

Are you sure it isn't liquid-filled (aural hematoma?).

Either way, yes, go to the ER. The rpoblem itself may or may not be an emergency, but the pain is.

BlueBelle · 10-14-2011, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Are you sure it isn't liquid-filled (aural hematoma?).

Either way, yes, go to the ER. The rpoblem itself may or may not be an emergency, but the pain is.

Good guess, I hadn't thought about that but with the scratching she said he was doing that could be what it is. Specially since vet looked in ear recently.

Ahis_Mama · 10-14-2011, 10:30 AM

I'm sorry that you and your baby is going through this. But as above poster said, I think going to the ER is best. If he is whimpering like that he is in pain. I would hate to have anyone in my family feeling way till late morning. Poor baby. And always to better to be safe than sorry. Hugs to you and Hepburn.

dryoasis88 · 10-14-2011, 10:45 AM

Thank you all. I just called the vet and she asked if I still had some of his pain medicine left from his dog bite incident in April (which they also handled). I do still have some left, it is a liquid and she told me that if I didn't want to spend the 100€ to have her come in tonight to see him, she could charge me 15€ for a telephone appointment and she would tell me how much of the medicine to give him and see him before opening in the morning. He was just weighed on Wednesday at his appointment so it worked out well. I gave him the medicine and she will be there at 8am to see him rather than 10am. I am a student and my vet is always great about trying to solve medical problems that aren't 100% emergency with the least cost but the most efficiency. She also gave me her cell number so that if he gets worse I can reach her directly and bring him in anyways. I gave him the medicine about 10 minutes ago and he is already acting much better. He even ate some of his food which he was not interested in when I got home even though it was his normal eating time. I am so happy that he is at least not in so much pain and that the vet was able to work with me for a solution that was immediate but not 100€+.

What does an aural hematoma look like? and where would it be on the ear? It feels like a hardish sack under the skin below the ear which is also now protruding inside the ear. It is tender but not warm. Does this sound right?

Ellie May · 10-14-2011, 10:51 AM

You can Google for pics. It's like a blood blister. Any inflammation on the ear and that is reall the first rule out. They get them on the ear flap, esp. after trauma (banging against the wall when shaking, scratching, etc.).

dryoasis88 · 10-14-2011, 10:57 AM

I looked up some pictures and they look like how his ear feels, but it is not on the pinna of his ear. It is below the actual ear cavity under the skin, but still attached to the ear. Can this also be an aural hematoma in anyone's experience?

Ellie May · 10-14-2011, 11:17 AM

Yes. It was likely missed by the vet leading to complications. If this is what it is and it isn't taken care of quickly, there will be scarring which is accompanied by wrinkling and a cauliflower ear. Then your pup will get more ear problems.

A-B | C-D | E-F | G-H | I-J | K-

dryoasis88 · 10-15-2011, 04:12 AM

Well Hepburn slept the whole night apparently pain free but this morning was not doing well. I took him in at 8am and saw the husband of the vet I talked to last night, who is also a vet at the practice I go to. He took one look at his ear, put in a q-tip and out came a lot of red-brown fluid and Hepburn screeched. Turns out his ear has a massive infection that developed very quickly and is completely swollen shut so they can't even see if something is in there or not (i.e. foreign body). So he gave Hepburn a anti-inflammatory per injection, an antibiotic in his ear after he cleaned as much of the gross stuff out as possible, a pain medicine with an extra dose for tonight and tomorrow morning and said be there at 10am tomorrow. He will put him under for about 10 minutes to get a good look in his ear (he wants to use just an injection, but I will discuss this with him in the morning based on cost and risk, I prefer gas anesthesia but Hepburn has had and tolerated both). Afterwards he will be on antibiotics depending on the severity of what they find. If it is already on the other side of the ear drum, they may have to open up the middle ear and insert a drain to avoid causing permanent balance issues.

Oh a good note though, Hepburn is happy and playing, running around like his normal self. He still scratches at his ear and shakes his head, but probably because the ear is full of fluid ickiness and he can't understand why it feels weird. His pain is relieved for the time being and I am just happy to know what is going on and be one step closer to solving the issue.

Thanks for all your support and I will post an update after our visit tomorrow!

yorkieusa · 10-15-2011, 04:49 AM

I'm just now reading about Hepburn's ear problem. It's good that he is being tended to quickly, since it is his ear. I'll keep him in my thoughts and hope the drs can take care of this without too much discomfort for the little guy.

Patti · 10-15-2011, 08:15 PM

I am glad Hepburn is feeling a little better and hope he is back 100% soon.

dryoasis88 · 10-19-2011, 05:26 AM

Well, Hepburn's Ear Saga has started a new chapter as of yesterday. We went to the vet sunday to see if they could look into his ear canal all the way to the ear drum (it was swollen shut the day before). The vet said no go and gave him an injection of antibiotics, an injection of cortisone and said to continue the ear drops, pain meds and cleanings until tuesday when I should come back with an appointment because if the swelling didn't go down, he would need to be put under anesthesia to do a endoscopy of his ear as they still could not rule out a foreign body.

Tuesday (yesterday) rolls around, we are at the office and the vet says, well the swelling is down, but there is a lot of red brown discharge so we will put him under for a bit and flush his ear, as well as doing the endoscopy to see where the problem is.

He comes back and says the that the good news is that there is no foreign body in Hepburn's ear. But the bad news is that the infection is not just in the ear canal but behind the ear drum as well, which can become very serious. He prescribed him an oral antibiotic for 8 days and I have an appointment for next thursday to see him again. He wanted to insert a tube through the ear drum to drain the infection, but he said Hepburn is just too small. If the antibiotic does not clear the infection by our next appointment, they will try the tube option again (aka put him under again which I am hoping they don't have to do). If it does not work, they will have to do major surgery but he did not expand on what that might be. This would be a bad situation and both the vet and I are fighting hard to avoid it. Please keep Hepburn in your thoughts and prayers this coming weekend and next week. I can only hope the oral antibiotics clear the infection and he doesn't even have to have anesthesia again...

10-14-2011, 10:12 AM	#1
dryoasis88 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 99	Mass below ear/in ear Hi all, I was hoping to keep this issue in the health/diet section as I thought it was just something simple, but it is looking like a more major concern. For background please see this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ce-issues.html I took Hepburn to the vet on Wednesday because he was acting strange. He was yelping randomly, scratching his ear, tilting his head and not wanting to play as usual. He was, however, eating, drinking, peeing and pooping normally, as well as greeting people and other dogs like he normally does (excited and jumpy). The vet looked at his ears and teeth and told me it looked a bit red in his ears but otherwise he was fine. She checked his heart rate and breathing and agreed again, all is good. She gave me some ear cleaning solution and sent me home. Today things got a bit more complicated. While I was massaging his ear cleaning solution into his ears like I was told to, I felt that his one ear, the one that had been bothering him, was larger on the bottom than the other. There was a hardish mass (not like swelling, harder, but not as hard as the rest of the bottom of the ear) at the bottom of his ear. It wasn't so big, but enough to feel the difference. I was concerned, but his behavior had improved and I figured it might just be a lymph node or that his ears were always like that and I never noticed. When I arrived home from work tonight (I was gone roughly 4-5 hours) I took him out and realized that he was acting more strange that he had on Wednesday. He was tilting his head all the time, and whimpering. Upon looking in his ear to see what was going on, I can see that the growth is now also inside his ear and it is almost closed shut! It wasn't bigger than a dime this morning under his ear so I am naturally quite concerned. He is still eating, drinking, peeing and pooping normal, and he will play if I really get him excited (which is much harder to do than normal). He also greeted the two dogs who live in my building with lots of energy and no signs of pain. I am just concerned that if this is growing so fast that I should take him in to the emergency hours at my vet tonight. If you call out of the normal hours, they will connect you to a vet on call and they will come in if it is an emergency. I am not really sure that it is though... I can also take him at 10am tomorrow during their regular hours. I am very concerned and just hoping that it is something non-serious and they can take care of it tomorrow rather than taking him tonight and having to pay a huge fee for an emergency visit. He is really acting strange, shaking, whimpering and he will barely let me touch him. He wants to be curled up in the corner all the time. I am just beside myself at what I should do or if I can do anything to keep him comfortable till morning. (It is after 8pm here already, just for reference). Any help or even just prayers/thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has had a similar experience, what did you?

10-14-2011, 10:22 AM	#2
Ellie May And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI Posts: 17,928	Are you sure it isn't liquid-filled (aural hematoma?). Either way, yes, go to the ER. The rpoblem itself may or may not be an emergency, but the pain is. __________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶

10-14-2011, 10:30 AM	#4
Ahis_Mama Living In Paradise! Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ewa Beach on the island of Oahu Posts: 3,588	I'm sorry that you and your baby is going through this. But as above poster said, I think going to the ER is best. If he is whimpering like that he is in pain. I would hate to have anyone in my family feeling way till late morning. Poor baby. And always to better to be safe than sorry. Hugs to you and Hepburn. __________________ Aloha & Have a wonderful day! Roni~ Ahi Shibi Roxie Heart Alize & Prada

10-14-2011, 10:51 AM	#6
Ellie May And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI Posts: 17,928	You can Google for pics. It's like a blood blister. Any inflammation on the ear and that is reall the first rule out. They get them on the ear flap, esp. after trauma (banging against the wall when shaking, scratching, etc.). __________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶

10-14-2011, 11:17 AM	#8
Ellie May And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI Posts: 17,928	Yes. It was likely missed by the vet leading to complications. If this is what it is and it isn't taken care of quickly, there will be scarring which is accompanied by wrinkling and a cauliflower ear. Then your pup will get more ear problems. A-B \| C-D \| E-F \| G-H \| I-J \| K- __________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶

10-14-2011, 10:45 AM	#5
dryoasis88 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 99	Thank you all. I just called the vet and she asked if I still had some of his pain medicine left from his dog bite incident in April (which they also handled). I do still have some left, it is a liquid and she told me that if I didn't want to spend the 100€ to have her come in tonight to see him, she could charge me 15€ for a telephone appointment and she would tell me how much of the medicine to give him and see him before opening in the morning. He was just weighed on Wednesday at his appointment so it worked out well. I gave him the medicine and she will be there at 8am to see him rather than 10am. I am a student and my vet is always great about trying to solve medical problems that aren't 100% emergency with the least cost but the most efficiency. She also gave me her cell number so that if he gets worse I can reach her directly and bring him in anyways. I gave him the medicine about 10 minutes ago and he is already acting much better. He even ate some of his food which he was not interested in when I got home even though it was his normal eating time. I am so happy that he is at least not in so much pain and that the vet was able to work with me for a solution that was immediate but not 100€+. What does an aural hematoma look like? and where would it be on the ear? It feels like a hardish sack under the skin below the ear which is also now protruding inside the ear. It is tender but not warm. Does this sound right?

10-14-2011, 10:57 AM	#7
dryoasis88 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 99	I looked up some pictures and they look like how his ear feels, but it is not on the pinna of his ear. It is below the actual ear cavity under the skin, but still attached to the ear. Can this also be an aural hematoma in anyone's experience?

10-15-2011, 04:12 AM	#9
dryoasis88 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 99	Update Well Hepburn slept the whole night apparently pain free but this morning was not doing well. I took him in at 8am and saw the husband of the vet I talked to last night, who is also a vet at the practice I go to. He took one look at his ear, put in a q-tip and out came a lot of red-brown fluid and Hepburn screeched. Turns out his ear has a massive infection that developed very quickly and is completely swollen shut so they can't even see if something is in there or not (i.e. foreign body). So he gave Hepburn a anti-inflammatory per injection, an antibiotic in his ear after he cleaned as much of the gross stuff out as possible, a pain medicine with an extra dose for tonight and tomorrow morning and said be there at 10am tomorrow. He will put him under for about 10 minutes to get a good look in his ear (he wants to use just an injection, but I will discuss this with him in the morning based on cost and risk, I prefer gas anesthesia but Hepburn has had and tolerated both). Afterwards he will be on antibiotics depending on the severity of what they find. If it is already on the other side of the ear drum, they may have to open up the middle ear and insert a drain to avoid causing permanent balance issues. Oh a good note though, Hepburn is happy and playing, running around like his normal self. He still scratches at his ear and shakes his head, but probably because the ear is full of fluid ickiness and he can't understand why it feels weird. His pain is relieved for the time being and I am just happy to know what is going on and be one step closer to solving the issue. Thanks for all your support and I will post an update after our visit tomorrow!

10-15-2011, 04:49 AM	#10
yorkieusa Crazy about Kacee! Donating Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kansas Posts: 21,173	I'm just now reading about Hepburn's ear problem. It's good that he is being tended to quickly, since it is his ear. I'll keep him in my thoughts and hope the drs can take care of this without too much discomfort for the little guy. __________________ Karen Kacee Muffin 1991-2005 Rest in Peace My Little Angel

10-15-2011, 08:15 PM	#11
Patti Donating YT 30K Club Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Illinois Posts: 35,509 Blog Entries: 6	I am glad Hepburn is feeling a little better and hope he is back 100% soon. __________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html

10-19-2011, 05:26 AM	#12
dryoasis88 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 99	Good news and bad news Well, Hepburn's Ear Saga has started a new chapter as of yesterday. We went to the vet sunday to see if they could look into his ear canal all the way to the ear drum (it was swollen shut the day before). The vet said no go and gave him an injection of antibiotics, an injection of cortisone and said to continue the ear drops, pain meds and cleanings until tuesday when I should come back with an appointment because if the swelling didn't go down, he would need to be put under anesthesia to do a endoscopy of his ear as they still could not rule out a foreign body. Tuesday (yesterday) rolls around, we are at the office and the vet says, well the swelling is down, but there is a lot of red brown discharge so we will put him under for a bit and flush his ear, as well as doing the endoscopy to see where the problem is. He comes back and says the that the good news is that there is no foreign body in Hepburn's ear. But the bad news is that the infection is not just in the ear canal but behind the ear drum as well, which can become very serious. He prescribed him an oral antibiotic for 8 days and I have an appointment for next thursday to see him again. He wanted to insert a tube through the ear drum to drain the infection, but he said Hepburn is just too small. If the antibiotic does not clear the infection by our next appointment, they will try the tube option again (aka put him under again which I am hoping they don't have to do). If it does not work, they will have to do major surgery but he did not expand on what that might be. This would be a bad situation and both the vet and I are fighting hard to avoid it. Please keep Hepburn in your thoughts and prayers this coming weekend and next week. I can only hope the oral antibiotics clear the infection and he doesn't even have to have anesthesia again...