Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 9/24/2009

Question
Hi. My dog woke up unhappy and shaking his head,with a puffy red hot ear, brought him to the vet asap and he said most likely aural hematoma (sp?). Vet gave him cortizone shot, benedryl for later. Said he could take the tramadol and vetraphin my other dog takes. I noticed a sagging neck with a swollen thickness the size of a small plum on his neck. This is not normal for him. Called vet about it, he said he noticed it and wait and see if it gets worse. My question for you is, have you seen this traveling to the neck/lymph node before? Is this normal or should I be concerned that an infection is moving through his body and he needs antibiotics or something else. Thank you for any help you can offer. Susan and (Crash, M 5 y/o 70lbs lab/pit)

Answer
I would not relate these two events together.  Aural hematoma results from shaking the head.  If there is an infection in the middle ear or the ear canal, these rarely are drained by the lymph nodes.  Ask your vet to fix the hematoma and do a needle aspirate of the lymph node.