Ear Ablation in Dogs - Page 1

It's a procedure used as a last-ditch effort to treat chronic ear infections. Anyone had, or known someone who had had this done to their dog?

I know a GSD that has suffered from ear trouble for years. Medication reduces the problem temporarily, but it always returns. Ear problems can be indicative of a food allergy, but her diet's been changed several times and her ears are still a chronic issue.

Does anyone here has any first-hand dealings with ablation; and if so, could you please tell me more?

I had it done to a female who had chronic infections. A couple hundred dollars, a floppy ear, and a miserable dog who still got ear infections were the result. I would not do it again. Good luck,

Mike

Because GSD ears are so upright, I'm surprised this would happen. Usually it's the floppy-eared breeds that suffer persistent infections!

My vet says most repeat infections are the result of ear flushes not being done properly. The flush/cleaning has to be REALLY thorough to get deep inside the ear, and get it REALLY clean.

In my experience, which includes dogs and cats, persistence is the key. I also do something a lot of other people are afraid to do. I do deep cleaning on the inside of the ear with q-tips. You'd be amazed at what gunk is in there, and how it stinks! I dip the q-tip in mineral oil, which helps kill ear mites, then I clean, medicate, repeat. It can take 4 or 5 double ended q-tips to thoroughly clean one ear. Sometimes I even use a headlamp so I can see deep into the ear, and make sure I'm getting all the gunk out. I pick a time when the dog (or cat) is really relaxed, take their head in my lap, and do it gently. If they struggle a lot, and find it stressful, I keep the session short. They get treats afterwards as a reward. They get used to it, and even my male, who used to cry like a baby when I handled his ears, is getting much better with it. He's almost never had ear problems, so I only do it if his ears are starting to look really dirty inside, or if I see him scratching. You have to go about 2" down into the ear to get the stuff that's way down there. The uprignt part of the GSDs ear is only about 2/3 of the total ear.

I know doctors tell humans to never put anything smaller than their elbow in their ear, but I wear hearing aids, so my ears get really wet inside, due to lack of air circulation. I dry the inside with a q-tip every time I wash my hair, and have yet to hurt myself.  I've worn hearing aids since I was a kid, and am now on the wrong side of 50.

I"m not the only one who does this with my dogs, either. Check out Fred Lanting's book, The Total GSD. Fred got a veterinary technician's license so he could work in the O.R. to better understand orthopedic problems, so he has a lot more veterinary knowledge than your average person.

Have you tried changing vets? Maybe a different treatment regime would help.

The dog in question isn't one of mine, but a close friend's. I don't know her complete vet history -- or how diligent my buddy has been with her prescibed treatments in the past -- all I know is her ears have been a problem for a long time, and I remember helping him chase her around the house to put meds in them.

I know it's peculiar for a GSD to have such trouble with this; she can look very miserable sometimes because even when I was helping him med her daily, the infection got better, but never fully went away. As soon as we finished the prescription, her ear issue came back shortly thereafter.

She's has her ears "roto-rootered" at the vet's on a rather regular basis. Again the infection always comes back. The skin inside them gotten very thick and leathery over the years, which probably doesn't help any.

My buddy's tried almost everything except surgey. I just wouldn't want him to put his girl through with it if it doesn't actually work as well as claims say. If MikeD's on the money, it sounds like it might not change a thing for her.