Sometimes a dog will shake its ears so vigorously that it will sustain an injury to one or more of the blood vessels between the layers of tissue that cover the cartilaginous tissue of the flap. When this happens, the blood escapes from t he damaged vessel and creates a large blood blister called a hematoma. Usually these hematomas are relatively painless after the initial injury but are cosmetically unacceptable. Moreover, if not drained, the hematoma will eventually shrink and cause the affected ear flap to become deformed, creating a cauliflower ear.
The treatment of choice for these ear flap hematomas is surgical correction. This will allow the bleeding into the hematoma to cease and the firm clot to form.
If the surgery is correctly performed, the postsurgical cosmetic appearance of an ear flap hematoma is quite acceptable.
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