My dog has an ear hematoma. Is it small? Is the black skin normal?

It is difficult to tell from the picture, but it looks like what you are seeing is a mass. We will commonly see benign masses in young dogs called a histiocytoma which can be itchy. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to determine what a mass it just by looking at it. Your vet can do a simple test called a fine needle aspirate to remove some cells with a needle and look at them under a microscope to determine what the mass is. If it is a histiocytoma, it will go away on its own, but Damon may need some medication to keep it from being itchy. I have attached more information on histiocytomas below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1676 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is difficult to know based on these pictures. However, it does sound severe. This may be due to an atypical ear hematoma. But it could certainly be something else like an abscess or growth. This warrants a re-evaluation so this can be sampled and treated. If it really is a hematoma then surgical intervention may be needed. Good luck and have a good night!

It’s so tough to tell from pictures alone, but I don’t see anything alarming. If you see any discharge from the wound, or if it seems to be opening up I’d recheck from the vet. From what I can see, if healing continues normally Olive should be fine.

This is actually filled with blood. This is a hematoma between the skin layers in the ear flap. They develop when dogs scratch or shake their heads excessively, usually from an ear infection or some type of allergy. Generally this requires a veterinary exam and surgical drainage. They will also check Dozer's ears to see if they are infected or try to find the cause of the hematoma. He will need to wear a cone probably until the ear heals. Without treatment the ear swelling will go down but it may take a month or more and the ear will scar up and become deformed. This can be uncomfortable and there is a risk of infection so I recommend veterinary treatment soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Dozer.

I'm so sorry that Julia has this problem (and she is adorable BTW). Aural hematomas typically never resolve completely on their own. If left untreated (i.e. undrained) eventually the blood that's trapped between the skin and the cartilage of the ear will be reabsorbed, assuming the ear infection (which is causing the head shaking and thus the hematoma) is properly treated. However, typically this leaves a scarred ear, something called a cauliflower ear, and this can be avoided with proper treatment. First, make sure that the medication that has been prescribed is going to appropriately treat the ear infection. That means a vet needs to do a cytology (microscopic evaluation) of the debris inside the ear. Most ear infections are fungal in nature, and need antifungal treatments to completely resolve. Then talk to the vet about draining the blood inside the ear. This may resolve the problem completely, but be prepared that Julia may need surgery to reattach the cartilage to the skin and resolve the hematoma for good.

Great question! She is just fine like this. Ear hematomas do wrinkle the ear flap. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to correct it. The best thing you can do is to make sure she doesn't get anymore hematomas by keeping her ears clean.

Thank you for the picture and clarification. This looks like it could be an aural hematoma, which is when fluid gets trapped between the layers of the ear. This is usually a sign of an ear infection. I'd have this checked out by a vet.