Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 5/5/2011

Question
My 8 year old Chihuahua has a bad ear infection. His ears are almost closed and the vet is going to put him under anesthesia and scrape inside his ears and give me medication to put in after.
He also said if this didn't work he would need major surgery to remove his ears and he wouldn't hear anymore. YIKES. Today was $400.00 which I  can barely afford but paying thousands for surgery is out of the question and I  will be forced to put him to sleep.I  don't know what to do.

sad, Linda

Answer
When ear infections are present for a long time, scarring inside the ear canals happens and that causes the ear canals to close.  Sometimes surgery will help. If the infection has moved into the middle ear, then the surgery is major.  If the closure is limited to the upper part of the ear canal, that part can be removed, which is much easier to do and easier on the dog.