Lateral wall resection in a Basset Hound (Zepps)

Dudley is an 18 month old regular happy customer of Jubilee that had been presenting with recurrent ear infections over the last few months. The vets seeing him found that ear drops relieved symptoms however the symptoms kept returning. We took a swab of the ears at this stage and found a resistant bacteria called pseudomonas that was responsible for the nasty infection.

Basset hounds are clearly adorable with their big floppy ears however these ears get overheated easily and their big folds of skin and deep ear canals allow collection of wax which allows resistant bacteria to multiply. After discussing the case thoroughly with the owner, we decided to open the ear canals up. This helps us to clean wax out of the ears and keep them well ventilated with fresh air which stops these bugs from growing.

Figure 1

Above Dudley's watery inflamed ear. Although you cannot see down Dudley's ear canal here it was badly inflamed and full of painfull ulcers

Figure 2

Dudley anaesthetised and ready for surgery

Figure 3

Dudley's ear after surgery. The ear canal has been opened helping to clean it and allow circulation of air.

The surgery was successfull however the bacterial infection caused some breakdown of the surgical site. We hospitalised Dudley and cleaned his ears over the next week. We also stuck them up above his head to improve ventilation. He is an excellent patient and very cooperative.

Figure 4

Dudley after his surgery with his ears strapped over his head!!

Figure 5

Ear 90% there. A few sutures remain but the ear has dried out very well and the painfull inflammation and ulcers have all but gone. The bacteria has been cleared and most importantly Dudley is no longer in pain. The owner will still have to clean the wax out of the ears every now and then and may have to strap them up occasionally however they are dramatically improved.

Figure 6

Dudleys ears have healed. The redness and infection has totally cleared and he is back to his usual self again.