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total ear ablation
I have a soon to be 9 year old cocker spaniel. we have fought ear infections since he was a pup, we feed him grain free food, etc. I have taken him to probably 7 or 8 different vets, all of whom repeatedly pushed antibiotics and steroids even though it comes back pretty much immediately as soon as the last pill is taken. we groom him religiously,clean his ears daily.. but nothing ever works completely. we moved to a new town, and have gotten another new vet. This one is the first one to suggest a total ear ablation. ( I guess in cockers the partial fails about 80% of the time because of anatomical reasons??)
my question is this.. would you do a major surgery on a 9 year old dog? the vet said it is a fairly uncomfortable surgery for the dog, and after it is also hard for the dog since he will have to learn to be deaf. he is already mostly deaf bc of the ear issues but obviously it would be profound if he had no ear canal at all. the surgery is expensive, around $1200 because it has to be both ears. Its not even tha spending the money is an issue, but I wondered if that was a decent price?
I really just want to make a good choice for the dog. he has been wonderful, couldn't ask for a sweeter disposition. He deserves to be happy, and I know he is uncomfortable every day right now.. but there are some major side effects of the surgery, so I am leery of putting him through a surgery which will fix one problem but will create a slew of new challenges for him. his current situation is basically we clean pus/ wax mix out daily, and do antibiotics off and on to get him through. the vet said wait a few months to allow him to get used to our new puppy before we take his hearing, so end of summer is when it is planned.
if I knew he would live years longer and this was a 100% guaranteed solution with no side effects it would be an easy choice.. but it sounds like it is hard for the dog after too. and if he only has a year or two left and it will take him months to recover that's not fair to him either. I know this board is full of vet folk, so I am curious the responses I will get... has anyone encountered this?
Re: total ear ablation
Unfortunately Cocker Spaniels and ear problems go hand and hand. and while I have a few idea that may not have been tried on your sweet pup chronic use of topical antibiotic/fungal creams are the norm. What happens with chronic ear infections is the ear canal basically swells closed, then you are dealing with the underlying ear problem PLUS the narrowed canal which makes the lower ear canal and even darker damper place for bacteria and yeast to go.
I am describing all this because a total ear ablation is only worth while once the ear gets to the point that the canal is almost obliterated. The surgery won't fix his chronic ear infections, what it will do it create a new, shorter ear canal with better contact to the outside world in hopes that it can stay cleaner and drier. I can almost guarantee you will still be treating ear infections regularly, but hopefully they will be easier to treat, and your pup should be more comfortable.
Yes it is a very painful surgery as you have to cut through cartilage, but I think once they are healed they are much more comfortable. And that pricing sounds reasonable. Its quite an intense surgery, not exactly and easy one to do so for 2 ears that sounds about right.