Traumatic Injuries and its Clinical Management

Traumatic ear injuries in dogs are relatively common due to their propensity to play, fight, scratch, and explore. Trauma to the ears can result from an external source or it could also be self-inflicted. Ear injuries can happen as a result of vehicular accidents, dog bites, ear burns, exposure to cold temperatures, faulty ear cropping techniques, and sharp objects. Mite and tick infestation, insect bite dermatitis, food allergies, and fly bites lead to intense pruritus and discomfort. Intense itching associated with such conditions can lead to excessive scratching and head shakingassociated traumas. Such trauma can lead to conditions like an aural hematoma, ear lacerations, broken ear cartilages, separation of auricular and annular cartilages, avulsion injuries, ear tip injuries, fractures of the tympanic bulla, tympanic membrane rupture etc. Medicinal treatment helps in management of ear infections but surgical intervention is required to deal with traumatic injuries.

Keywords: Aural hematomas, Avulsion injuries, Accidents, Broken cartilages, Bulla fracture, Ear burn, Frostbite, Lacerations, Tympanic membrane rupture.