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Indian Vet. J., May 2015, 92 (5) : 72 - 73

Aural Haematoma in a Yorkshire Pig – A Case Report

Ravi Raidurg and Patel Suresh Revanna
Department of Surgery & Radiology, Veterinary College, Vinoba Nagar, Shimoga 577 204, Karnataka, India.

(Received : 29-11-2013; Accepted : 01-09-2014)

Abstract Based on history and physical examination, the

Aural haematoma is acknowledged to be a case was diagnosed as “Aural haematoma”.
common condition in canine general practice. Treatment and Discussion
The aetiopathogenesis is unknown. Aural
haematoma are well documented in dogs, The right ear was prepared for aseptic surgery.
sporadic cases have been recorded in sheep, Preoperatively oxytetracycline LA was adminis-
buffaloe calves, goats and is not reported in tered @ 10 mg /kg IM half an hour before surgery.
swine. The present report puts on record the Animal was premedicated with xylazine @ 1
surgical management of aural haematoma in a mg / kg IV. Ten minutes later general anaes-
Yorkshire pig. thesia was induced with ketamine @ 5 mg per
kg IV. Anaesthesia was maintained with 2.5 %
Key Words : Aural haematoma, Othaematoma. thiopentone sodium @ 15 mg/kg IV to effect.
Aural haematoma in canines had been External auditory meatus was packed
recorded as eighth most common surgical with sterile gauge. A stab incision was made
procedure in canines ranked only below ovario- initially on the haematoma which was later
hysterectomy, castration, declawing, dental extended to linear incision and nally into
prophylaxis, tooth extraction, abscess treatment elliptical incision. Aural haematoma was evacu-
and removal of cutaneous neoplasia in a survey ated, explored and irrigated with normal saline.
conducted with North American practitioners Through & through horizontal mattress sutures
(Johnson et al., 1993). Aural haematoma were were applied through the entire thickness of
well documented in dogs (Slatter, 2003), sporadic the ear with knots on convex side of ear using
cases had been recorded in sheep (Bates, 1996), silk size 1 leaving the incised cutaneous edges
buffaloe calves and goats (Tyagi and Singh, 2010: unopposed (Fig 1). A tight protective bandage
Sharma et al., 2012) and is not reported in swine
as per the available literature. The present
report puts on record the surgical management
of aural haematoma in a Yorkshire pig.
Case History and Observations
A ve month old Yorkshire female piglet
weighing 32 kgs from ILFC, Veterinary College,
Shimoga was presented with history of swelling
and droopiness of right ear since one day. Physi-
cal examination revealed a apparent healthy
piglet with normal temperature , pulse and
respiration. Right ear was droopy with swelling
present in the concave aspect of the ear. Fine
needle aspiration revealed presence of blood.
Fig 1. Horizontal mattress suture (through & through) knots
1
Corresponding author : Email : raviraidurg@gmail.com on convex side (not visible)

The Indian Veterinary Journal (May, 2015)

 Ravi Raidurg and Patel Suresh Revanna 73

was applied immobilizing the ear against the Summary

dorsum of the neck after dressing with povidone
iodine ointment. Meloxicam was administered
@ 0.4 mg/kg IM for three days, oxytetracycline
LA @ 10 mg /kg IM once in three days and the
sutures were removed on 14 post operative day.
Animal made uneventful recovery.
Aural haematoma was the most common
physical injury of the pinna observed on the
concave surface of ear which is self inicted by
scratching and head shaking (Henderson and
Hornes, 2002). Mechanical causes, such as head
shaking during otitis externa leading to rupture
of pinnal blood vessels and formation of haema-
toma had been suggested (Stephenson, 1941).
Psoroptes spp.mite infestation in sheep (Bates,
loc. cit) and ear tagging in goats (Clayton, 2009)
had been associated with development of aural
haematoma. However, more recently an autoim-
mune pathogenesis has been proposed, causing
doubt on the assumption that the pinnal swell-
ing is a true haematoma, but rather that the
haematoma uid is an inammatory exudate
(Kuwahara, 1986).
Needle aspiration or tube drainage were
effective for acute haematomas and incision
was made for chronic ones (Slatter, loc. cit).
Tube drainage with teat canula (Wilson, 1983)
and Penrose drain (Joyce, 1994) had also been
recommended for draining recent haematomas.
Incisional technique was adopted in the present
case. Animal showed uneventful recovery.
A case of aural haematoma in a Yorkshire pig
and its surgical management is placed on record.
References
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