Our big boy Pongo has recurrent problems with ear infections - I believe yeast infections. Drops don't really seem to help much, and he doesn't like them (he seems to scratch and shake his head even more for several hours after I've put drops in his ears, not good to see). I try to keep his ears clean with wipes, but we still get flare-ups, when he is obviously in discomfort most of his waking hours.... not in severe pain, but shaking his head and looking a bit fed up. We're in the middle of one of those now. Our vet has suggested that one option might be surgery to straighten the ear canal (I believe) and make infection less likely. That seems like a pretty scary option to me, but I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting. Has anyone else heard of this or done it, and what do you think? Rosie
Sorry can't be of any help to you, not heard of this before, sending Pongo licks from Fred and Annie Hope he is soon better.
Ah Rosie,poor Pongo.I've heard of the procedure but can't think of anyone on here that has had it done ....... I had a terribly bad run with ears a couple of years back ,really months and months of it and was onto my 3rd vet in Dubai and consulting a UK one too! The top and bottom of our problem was whatever started it ,then end of it came by reducing all the medication he was being treated with ,his ears were just fully gunked up with it all and a break cured it for us.I was just on the start of a food trial to eliminate allergies as the cause...I guess you've already considered and tried that if the surgery option is under discussion.It's horrible seeing them bothered by it and they shake their head and scratch so hard ....
Sorry to hear about Pongo - I have a dog with recurrent ear problems and it can be really miserable for them
Hmmm, yes. I really don't like giving him treatments unless I can see them working, and the drops really do seem to make it worse (at least for a few hours, and I see no improvement really afterwards).
I used to be a veterinary nurse and have seen this done. The dog's ear canal is like an L shape, so the op opens up the top part of the L so that the ear canal is now open to the fresh air. However, best to explore other options first just to make sure it is the right decision. If I remember, the ops were a success.
I had a BC x Springer who had that op on one of her ears. She had suffered horrendous ear infections/ burst ear drums/ deafness for years, not helped by the fact I couldn't keep her out of the water! The op was a complete success, but, it was a painful recovery and she had loads and loads and loads of stitches. It is a big op, personally I wouldn't put a dog through it unless the infections are causing substantial hearing loss.
Tilly has recurrent yeast infections in her ears. We can mostly keep them under control with cleaners and anti fungals, but she does not like it. They do work for her though. She is almost 11 now and her hearing does seem to have suffered, but sometimes we think she has selective hearing loss.
Could your vet put you in touch with other owners whose dogs have had the surgery? It'd be helpful to have a decent number of people to talk to.
Before you consider surgery, see a dermatologist - ask for a referral, no matter how much you like your regular vet and respect his opinion and don't want to offend etc. go see a specialist dermatologist. @Lochan did me the biggest service ever in telling me to see a good dermatologist, and told me how to find one. I found a very well qualified dermatologist, and he sorted out Charlie's ears - after months and month of my (otherwise very good) vet giving me greasy ABs that just made things worse. I won't bore you with the whole story of the mis-diagnosis of Charlie's ear problems (no, it wasn't yeast), it was just a puppy ear problem that wasn't treated properly and got out of hand. But, it's all sorted now. The fees I paid for that dermatologist have been the best money I have ever spent.
