Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog ear skin injury repaired with caudal auricular flap surgery
By Katarwala, Karuna R & Buote, Nicole J·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2022·Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The use of a caudal auricular axial pattern flap for repair of a degloving pinna wound in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male neutered French bulldog was brought in with a severe injury to his left ear after a fight with a larger dog. The injury involved a large area of skin being removed from the ear, which required a special surgical technique called a caudal auricular axial pattern flap (CAAPF) to repair. After surgery, the dog experienced some swelling and infection for about three months but was treated successfully. Over a year later, the ear was functioning well and looked acceptable, showing that this surgical option can be a good alternative to removing the ear entirely.
People also search for: dog ear injury treatment · French bulldog ear surgery · dog ear reconstruction options
Abstract
A 3-year-old male neutered French bulldog was presented for an anatomical degloving injury of the left pinna following a conflict with a larger dog at a park. Approximately 2/3 of the dorsal skin was removed from the convex surface of the left pinna along with an irregular, full thickness injury on the lateral aspect of the pinna distal to the cutaneous marginal pouch. A caudal auricular axial pattern flap (CAAPF) was used to reconstruct the pinna. The flap healed with no noted necrosis over the long-term. Postoperative cellulitis was noted for approximately 3 mo. The dog was medically managed for bilateral otitis externa multiple times over the course of recovery. Long-term function and cosmesis at 1.5 y after surgery revealed adequate functional movement of the pinna and acceptable cosmesis. It is concluded that, rather than a pinnectomy, a CAAPF can be offered as a surgical option in dogs that have injuries localized to the pinna. Key clinical message: A CAAPF is an alternative to pinnectomy for reconstruction of the pinna after degloving injury and yields a functional and cosmetically acceptable outcome.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35237014/