Zepp's procedure for chronic ear problem

hi we have a 4 and a half lhasa apso who has had an ear problem since just over a year old,laboratory not picking up any infection but he has had all the vetinary treatments plus continuous ear cleaning and the problem has got so bad now that he hates going to the groomers he is ok until they get to his head,then he just cries and tries to bite the groomer and we have exhausted all the groomers,i have to say the groomer we have now is brilliant with him she keeps giving him breaks and cuddles to calm him down and the last time he had her in tears because she said he doesn't want to hurt her but his ear is stressing him out.he is not aggressive and is a very loving boy esp around children he adores them.the vet mentioned about this op and i am looking for feedback from anyone who's dog has had this op,he has narrow ear canals and the hair grows right down in the canal and the op is to remove part of the canal to widen it.we have tried using thornit powder instead of vetinary products but no joy.we are getting to the desperate stage now but don't want to make his ears worse,help please from anyone who has had experience with this op,many thanks shirl

Oh sorry to hear about your poor lhasa.

The only experience similar is a lhasa apso that I walk who has been deaf from birth. She is not stone deaf but has no opening to her ear canal so very reduced hearing. She was getting an absess every 6 months or so.

She has just had surgery to make an opening into her ear canal so that it can be cleaned. She stayed the night with us the day after having it done and was a little uncomfortable in the night. This was less than a week ago and she seems back to her normal self and is comfortable and healing well.

Good luck with your little dog. My husband suffers the same and is due for similar surgery to his own ear and I know how miserable he is with constant recurring earaches.

thanks so much for your input,i hope all goes well for your husband as a child i had dreadful ear problems and i still remember the pain and waking up screaming with it.thanks again xxx

I have nothing further to offer, but can see how upset and worried you are so just want to say a big good luck.......take heart from MaisiesMum, and look forward to your little chap starting life anew after his op.

My Labrador has a similar issue with his ears. He has a rare form of bacteria down his ears which consequently causes infections. We have struggled to get rid of it for the best part of a year. Currently it is manageable with medication but I have to question whether the meds will work forever. The vet mentioned having the same operation if managing it with meds for whatever reason stops working. Fingers crossed it never comes to that.

So no personal experience of this op but I do feel your pain about having a dog with persistent ear problems.

Hopefully it works for your dog and he can be free of problems.

My previous dog a springer x collie had this op done. She'd had constant infections that wouldn't go, ended up having her ears flushed under GA for three weeks running before having the op to widen her ear canal.

The op went well and she certainly had no problems with the ear again, but I have to warn you that it looked horrific just after the op with loads and loads of stitches and of course her ear and side of face/neck was shaved making it all look worse. Saying that she coped really well, it healed quickly and the fur soon grew back hiding the new 'earhole'.

oh thank you all so much for responding to my question and mandy thank you for sharing,max has had his ears flushed and hair plucked under a g.a several times but the problem keeps coming back so i am thinking maybe this op could improve his life because the problems with his ear get me and my husband down because we hate seeing him like this so goodness knows how max feels,he only has to hear the word ear and he hides under the table so now we have to talk in code lol.well it's off to the vets this week then to discuss if we do this.once again many thanks xx

just to let you all know we have decided that max will have this operation done as apart from us he won't let anyone else near his ear and yesterday he went hysterical when the vet went to look in his ear and i have never seen him behave this way before,i think the poor boy has had enough so next wednesday he is having it done,we have been warned there will be a lot of stitches and that he will be in considerable pain for a couple of weeks we feel bad for putting him through it but the vet has told us he has seen many dogs lives changed for the better after having this op done.anyway i will keep you informed of his progress.many thanks again.

I have only just read this thread and am so sorry that your little lhasa is having this ear problem.

A friend of mine had a Cavalier King Charles who's ear canal on one ear was too narrow and he suffered continual ear infections and awful pain. He had his ear canal widened and it was a complete success. The only thing she did have to do was keep his pain management under control for about 2 weeks, not the one week that the vet had originally prescribed for.

I think you are definitely doing the right thing for your young little lad and hopefully his life will be transformed. Do keep us informed and the best of luck to you both.

I have a real soft spot for Lhasas having had one for 15 years

thank you jenny that has given us a lot of hope for a successful outcome.most people have said it works so fingers crossed.our vet said 2 weeks of pain so hopefully it will be just that amount of time,many thanks xxx