Auricular hematoma is an accumulation of lymph and blood in the space between the skin of the auricle and the cartilage of the ear.
SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSTICS
It is not at all difficult to recognize it for the owner of the animal, since it is practically impossible to confuse it with anything. It appears, one might say suddenly, very quickly and a beautiful thin ear turns into a semicircular, soft, elastic and sometimes even painful, like a dumpling. Often this is a one-sided problem, that is, a hematoma appears on one ear, and less often - bilateral. The animal is worried, sometimes noticeably tilts its head to the side of the damaged ear. Contributing factors in the appearance of an otogematoma are ear trauma by any means - whether it is a sliding bruise or hitting objects, accidental bites in a fight between animals, self-injury with itchy ears with parasitic otitis media or with allergic reactions, active head shaking, etc. At the same time, blood and lymph vessels are damaged, and their contents accumulate under the skin, which in turn is accompanied by pain and discomfort, which sometimes causes the pet to scratch its ears and shake its head even more. In the absence of treatment in mild cases with small hematomas, the process may end with self-healing (however, not fast). In other cases, the process can be aggravated by necrosis of the auricle tissue, infection in damaged tissues, and independent breakthrough of the hematoma with thinning of its wall. It should be noted that not all animals, even with very itchy ears and their injuries, have ear hematomas.