The animal is placed under anesthesia in stemal recumbency. The ears are clipped and prepped and the head and chin are elevated with a towel.
The ears are fully extended above the animal and the desired length is measured from the base of the ear to the rostral or cranial edge of the ear as shown in fig.1 and fig.2, and marked with a needle.
The clamp is placed on the ear as shown in fig.3.The bottom of the clamp is placed as close as possible to the tragus. A bigger bell or thinner ear can be made by adjusting the tension of the ear on the clamp.
A razer blade with a stiff ridge backing is preferred over a scalpel blade. The ear is cut as shown in fig.4 The base of the ear can be trimmed with a scissor to fine tune the bell shape, fig.5 The ears should be sutured in a simple continuous pattern using with a straight needle. The suture line is started 3/8” from the tip of the ear, and the ear cartilage is completely covered with skin.
Several of the clamps are marked with a trim line. The starting point foe trimming the er distally
should be matched to this trim line. The schnauzer and Boxer clamps do not have a trim line. The trim line should be placed on the medial side and distally.
|
DOGS WHOSE EARS ARE NORMALLY TRIMMED |
||
|
Breed |
AGE |
MAX LENGTH |
|
MiniatureSchnauzer |
10-12 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
|
Box |
9-10 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
|
Doberman Pinschec + + |
7-8 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
|
Great Die |
7 Weeks |
3-1/2 inches |
|
Boston Terrier |
Any age after 8 weeks |
AS long as possible |
|
Giant schnauzer |
9-10 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
|
Bouvier |
9-10 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
|
Pit Bull |
9-10 Weeks |
2-1/2 inches |
Post-operative Care
After surgery ears are routinely cleaned and the ear is left uncovered and untaped for the first 7 days post-op. There are many different methods for bandaging or racking ears. The following is only offered as one suggestion
Upon suture removal after 7 days a judgement is made if the ears look like they will or will not stand if they appear to need help, a cone is made from a roll of cotton gauze and is placed in the ear canal.
Then a 1-inch adhesive tape is applied in a circular pattern around the base to the tip. This bandage is allowed to remain in place for 5 days then removed for 5 days, an alternative 5-days bandaging- unbandaging procedure is utilized until the ears stand.
The newest method is to use the lightweight malleable Sam Splint. The splint can be cut and is custom shaped to each dog. There are still cases where the ears will not stand due to faulty ear carriage. The Behney ear instrument kit is an implant system designed for ears that fail to stand.