Vertical ear canal ablation - hamster and dog - post-op bleeding

Unusual to do vertical ear canal ablation in a dog and hamster around the same period of time. 


1.  Jack Russell 13 years old - Day 12 - much better. Surgery by Dr Daniel Sing.

2.  Dwarf hamster, 22 months old - Day 7 - had profuse bleeding yesterday (Day 6).

Day 6 after vertical ear canal ablation

7 hours later, the hamster had cleaned himself, removing all traces of bleeding 

Surgery by Dr Sing Kong Yuen. SURGICAL TECHNIQUE Vertical incision into canal. Then electro-excision to remove whole veritcal canal with tumours inside.

Both had tumours inside the vertical canal. The top 2/3 of the vertical canal was cut out with the tumours. Bleeding was due to the scratching of the operation area.

In the dog, the e-collar was effective but the dog objected strongly to ear cleaning for the first 5 days at home. So the owner sent the dog here for me to clean. The wound was wet and Dr Daniel removed the stitches, letting the wound to heal by granulation (IMAGE). 

After 8 days of in-patient, he went home today. He is extremely hyper-active although he is an old dog. "Jack Russells are born high energy and will be active if they are healthy in old age, as in your dog." I explained to the couple. VIDEO


In the hamster, the neck was too short and in any case, e-collar is not effective as the hamster will take it off in a few seconds. So, today, I examined the wound. Around 5 clotted tags of skin were snipped off. A much bigger crate or high-walled plastic container with a standing exercise wheel was advised.  The hamster was still 52 g and ate more and peed more, due to the drug. His stools are normal in size. VIDEO.

Conclusion
Daily care of the ear wound by cleaning and medication giving is important for both the hamster and dog. It takes around 14 days for the granulation wound to heal and the blood clots to fall off. In the hamster, the owner cared for it at home and I saw him today only. The heavy clotted tags of skin around the wound were snipped off as they could be "heavy" and irritating to the hamster.  (VIDEO)