Missing ear- appearance of growth

[spochins]

I rescued Izzie last March. Her previous owner told me that her mother had "over groomed her" and that one ear was damaged and the other ear was missing.The previous owner also told me that she had gotten Izzie from a pet store breeder.

The wounds had long since healed when I got her and in all other respects she was healthy. I didn't take her to a vet since she didn't exhibit any sign of illness. She is a very squirmy little thing and as a result I never carefully examined the remains of her ears.

She is currently about one years old. She has never had any health issues until now
In the past few days, I noticed that there is a "bump" growing where her right ear should be. It is a large raised area of pink skin. She is behaving normally (poops fine, activity level fine, appetite fine) ,except she occasionally scratches this area with her hind foot. I am going to take her to my exotics vet ASAP.

In the last nine months I have absolutely fallen in love with her. Although she doesn't like to be held, she loves having her neck rubbed. She is incredibly gentle and rushes to the front of her cage when ever I walk by.

In hind sight I wish I had taken her to a vet immediately after rescuing her. I hate to think what must be going on internally. Has any one ever dealt with a similar situation?

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

I doubt taking her to the vet 9 months ago would have helped the ear problem. It may be an abcess but may not be. Glad you are having her looked at. Hopefully it will be something simple or nothing at all.

 

[spochins]

I took Izzie to the vet last night. I'm lucky that the vet is a chin owner herself and seems to be very knowledgeable.
While the tech was weighing Izzie, the large, red, crusty lump on the side of Izzie's head exploded. What seemed like a large quantity of puss was released. I don't mean to be so graffic but it's hard to avoid.
The area continued to ooze until the vet entered the room. After examining the area, the vet told me that she had a bacterial infection. It is uncertain whether or not Izzie was born with a "normal"right ear, that during her infancy, suffered extreme trauma causing her to lose all evidence of her entire outer ear. The other explanation is that she was born without an outer ear.
If she had an outer ear canal,whether there was an opening from the inner ear through her fur is uncertain. The vet believes that bacteria may have been able to get into the limited remaining portions of her right outer ear canal. The bacteria caused an infection and in turn produced the huge amounts of puss. What amazes me is the speed at which the cyst grew. It first was visible about 4 days ago. When it burst it was about the size of a grape tomato.
The vet flushed the site with a sterile saline solution and applied baytril otic. She prescribed a 2 week course of Baytril orally and metacam for pain.
She also suggested that an x-ray of her skull might be helpful to determine if Izzie does in fact have an ear canal and whether or not her infection may have spread to the inner ear (if in fact she does have an inner ear). The vet seemed surprise dthat Izzie hadn't experienced an infection such as this earlier. I've had her 9 months and never encountered a problem.
Izzie is such a trooper. Her activity level and appatite are only slightly deminished . She happily accepts an occasional treat and despite being poked and proded, she seems relatively content. I can't image the pressure that the cyst must have been exerting. I'm hoping with all my heart that she recovers.
Despite her wacky ears, she is a wonderful chin. I'm sure that most breeders would of had her put down when she was just a kit.

 

[Claire D]

I am sorry to read that Izzie has an infection. I have to say that IMHO they are very hard (in some cases impossible) to clear completely.

These two threads might be of interest - of a chin with a long term inner ear abscess. She was a beautiful black velvet called Poppet.

http://www.chinchillas-unlimited.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=34133&hl=Poppet

http://www.chinchillas-unlimited.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=34582&hl=Poppet

Poppet - http://www.davidson-chinchillas.co.uk/pages/poppet.php

 

[spochins]

Thanks for the links. They were very informative. Sadly, you referred to Poppet, your chin, in the past tense. Did complications from her ear condition lead to her death? I'm sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful chin.
Luckily, Izzie has not exhibited any signs of an inner ear infection to date. She does NOT have head tilt nor does her balance seem off. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the infection is limited. Are there any other signs of an inner ear infection?
She is currently running around her exercise wheel. I kept the door to the "chin room" open last night so that I could hear if she was up to her normal nocturnal romps.
She is tolerating taking her meds orally. However, the vet instructed me to apply the Batryl Opic into the broken skin covering the abcess. The site has crusted over and I'm having difficultly locating the openings. Izzie is an incredibly wiggly chin and does not like being held. My vet was out of the office today so I spoke with a tech. She suggested applying warm compresses to the area in an attempt to open up the wound. I would think that it would require at least 5 minutes of holding a warm compress to her head in order to see any results. It could prove quite a struggle. Any suggestions?

 

[Riven]

Burrito her, she'll learn to like it, and it will be much easier on you.

You can gentle clean the area with a wash rag and warm water well, some scabbing is normal and part of the healing process.

I know this might sound weird/rude but you don't know if she had an ear opening before this happened? Or am I misunderstanding what the vet is saying about possibly not having an outer ear canal.

 

[spochins]

I burritoed Izzie and was somewhat successful cleaning up her "ear".
I tried to explain in my earlier posts how I ended up with a rescued chin with an unusual anatomy. Her previous owners told me that he mother had "licked" her ears off in infancy. Since one small ear flap was visible on the left side of her head, I assumed that under the fur on the right side of her head was a similar tiny flap. Since Izzie was otherwise healthy, I didn't take her to the vet. With a new chin, I found it a difficult decision whether or not to further traumatize her with a trip to the vet when she seemed in all other respects healthy and "normal".
As with all rescues, it was difficult to obtain details about her previous history. Like I wrote earlier, the trauma to both "ears" had long since healed when I got her.

 

[spochins]

Izzie returned to the vet yesterday for surgery. The vet aenethesized Izzie and took an x-ray of her skull to determine the status of her right ear. The x-ray showed that the internal portions of her ear were intact.
Whether or not a hole in her skin, connecting her ear canal to the outside atmospere, ever existed is uncertain. She may have been born with a "normal" ear anatomy. As a kit she may have suffered serious ear trauma (such as her mother "grooming her ear off" as her previous owners told me). This trauma may have resulted in the loss of the entire outer ear flap (pinna). Skin may have grown over the ear canal closing it off to the outside. Another senario is that her unusual ear geometry was a birth defect. There is no way of knowing.

The vet, in an attempt to prevent future bacterial infections in the ear, removed some inflamed flesh to create a connection between the ear canal and the outside. Izzie's entire ear flap (pinna) has always been missing. Now she has what appears to be a small "hole" in the side of her head. The vet was able to flush out her ear canal. I am now able to successfully put the baytril opic into the "hole" in order to reach the infected portion. After her initial absess burst during the 1st visit to the vet, the site became crusted over and I was unable to find a break in the skin to insert the antibiotic solution.

I hope to be able to post some pictures soon. Her appearance after surgery was quite unsettling. It looks as if she literally has a hole in the side of her head. I still think she has a beautiful little face!

The vet said that the x-rays indicate that there is evidence that Izzie's inner ear may also be infected. Hopefully the oral baytril that I am giving her will help treat the inner ear infection. I understand that treating inner ear infections can be very difficult.

Izzie is a brave little girl. She seems to be recovering well. Thank God she is eating and pooping well. I've placed a towel in the bottom of her cage so that I can monitor closely the number of poops she's producing. It's easier than keeping track of the amount of food and hay she is eating since she knocks about her food bowl.

She HATES being given medication (metacam and baytril) or Critical Care. Despite every attempt to burrito her she manages to wiggle free. I've tried all kind of techniques to wrap her up but she always manages to work her way out. Luckily she seems to forgive me quickly after the "wrestling matches" and will readily accept a small piece of shreded wheat.

Tonight I have a number of questions that I wished I had asked the vet yesterday. My main qustion deals with Izzie's lack of a pinna. Once Izzie "new ear configuration" heals, what will prevent dust or other small debris from getting into her "unprotected ear"? Has anyone ever had a chin without a pinna?

 

[Carol~Anne]

I haven't yet dealt with a chin with ear issues but wanted to say that you are doing a great job of caring for Izzie and that she sounds like a lil sweetheart.

As far as the burrito thing goes, you have to wrap that blanket quite tight. Not so tight you strangle the poor girl but tight enough to keep her contained, only if it's for a short time, especially those little front feet that are super active.

When I burritoed my boys, I also applied a 'little' bit of pressure on their front feet/chest area to keep them in place and that also helped to keep them still. As mentioned before, I did give them (and myself) plenty of breaks before I started up the ordeal again. It does get easier with practice though and eventually you will find a way that works for both you and Izzie.

 

[Claire D]

Thanks for the links. They were very informative. Sadly, you referred to Poppet, your chin, in the past tense. Did complications from her ear condition lead to her death? I'm sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful chin.

Sorry, I've not been online for a couple of days so have only just seen your post. Yes, dear Poppet died as a result of her inner ear infections. It was too deep seated and had been left for far too long before I got her.
The operations gave her a good quality of life though and she did very well for several months after her first set of ops. I just wish her original owner had treated her as quickly as you have your little one.


In answer to your last question about the lack of pinna (from my experience) - nothing will prevent dust and debris from entering the inner ear. That is one of the problems with a lack of pinna and it does make dealing with ear problems more difficult. You may have to sprinkle dust onto her rather than allowing her to have a dust bath in future. Your chin will be "high maintenance" in that respect and may require repeated ops and flushing of the inner ear.
Some chins go on for months without requiring treatment but some need it more frequently - it all depends really on the situation and the individual chin.

I wish you both all the best.

 

[spochins]

Claire D.- I appreciate your input concerning ear infections and chins lacking a pinna. I read all of the links your beautiful Poppet. I admire your devotion. You certainly tried everything you could to increase the quality of her life. I was really rooting for her to pull through and finally beat the infection. I'm sorry about your loss. I really appreciate your good wishes.

Izzie appears to be doing fine although the "hole" the vet created through Izzie's skin into the ear canal appears to be slowly decreasing in diameter. I'm going to call the vet tomorrow. I hope that it remains open and that Izzie will not have to endure repeated surgeries to keep it open.

I've included some pics of my beloved little Izzie. A small opening to the ear canal is visible in the first pic. The second pic is of Izzie's left ear. Although her pinna is very small, her ear is otherwise "normal". I've also included a pic of Izzie before the whole ordeal began. This is how she looked when I rescued her 9 months ago.

 

[spochins]

I'm going to try again to send the pics.