Hematoma

So Brutus had been really antsy for the better part of a week even though on first glance nothing seemed to be wrong. I checked his teeth, his jaws, looked for sores and found nothing. It wasn't until I noticed his ear looked a bit off that I inspected a bit closer and the whole tip of his ear was completely engorged with fluid. I did some research and discovered he had a hematoma, which is basically a burst blood vessel which leaked blood into a pocket in his ear. The poor thing. Well we got him to the vet today and they lanced it and - get this - sewed buttons in his ear to keep it drained...actual buttons!

Anyone ever have a dog w/ this particular infliction? I am worried about it happening again, I have been reading that it can fill back up - hope not!

I had a dog several years back that had a hematoma. About 2/3 - 3/4 of her ear leather was engorged with blood. A vet drained it off and it didn't come back. Sometimes they have to fix it surgically to stop it from coming back. But the good news is at least they can do something to stop it from recurring.

He shook his ear loose from the bandages and I was surprised to find that they didn't suture the lance at all. I don't really care about scarring or anything, but should it heal okay anyway? It looks terrible!

Oh and about 6-8 buttuns inside and out. I was instructed by the vet that we are not allowed to laugh

When Metalhead had hers drained, they didn't even bandage it. I would try to keep him from flapping it a lot. But other than that, hopefully it'll be okay.