2002 CASE: THE MINIATURE SCHNAUZER KEEPS SHAKING HIS
EARS
Dr
Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
First written: 17 August, 2002
Updated:
31 July, 2010 |
 toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0129 |
"Two hundred and fifty dollars per
ear!" Mr Ho, the straight-back
thin and sun-burnt fisherman said
to me. "That is expensive for a
dog."
He was two years younger than the
Senior Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
He was happy that he did not have
high blood pressure or diabetes.
He was just as healthy as the
Senior
 Minister
but he did not have a heart
stent surgery. He could be
mistaken for the oriental version
of the Marlboro man as he inserted
a Marlboro cigarette into his
sunburnt thin-lipped mouth and
puffed out a bluish-white ring of
smoke.
I corrected Mr Ho: "The cost of
surgery including anaesthesia
package is two hundred fifty per
ear. Surgery for two ears would
cost five hundred dollars."
My assistant and groomer Ken who
read a lot of marketing books,
whispered to me: "Mr Ho, the
father is from the generation of
the boomers' parents. This miserly
fuddy-duddy is more focused on
thrift as his early life
experience demanded that he take
responsibility for the livelihood
of his family. His generation
demands that he be mature beyond
his years. You will see that Mr
Ho, the son, would not blink an
eye to the cost of this surgery."
"Can you reduce the cost by 50%?"
the senior Mr Ho asked. I could
not as the cost of surgery and
anaesthesia took a longer time
than simply stitch up a wound.
"You may need to get a few
quotations for this surgery and it
will cost you more at the
Veterinary Hospital," I
suggested.
Groomer Ken whispered to me:
"Maybe it will cost less as the
Hospital may be doing more cases
and the economy of scale would
come in." Well, I certainly didn't
think that the more cases, the
lower the costs as each surgery is
personalised and time-consuming.
It is not like the production of
computers on a massive scale, but
there was no point in debating
this with the senior Mr Ho as he
wondered what Groomer Ken was
whispering about.
The senior Mr Ho is proficient in
most Chinese dialects as the
"Speak Mandarin Drive" for the
Chinese campaign had not affected
him. Mr Ho, the son could not
speak a word of the dialects.
The poor Miniature Schnauzer
vibrated on the consultation table
as if he knew what would be
happening to him. He had been
tranquilised and given an ear
irrigation four months ago. That
had set back Mr Ho by one hundred
and fifty dollars for two ears.
Since the owners had been
forewarned that the ear
infection would return, there was
no unhappiness. The dog had been
shaking his head for the last two
weeks after visiting the groomer
to have his coat clipped and ear
hairs plucked out.
As the groomer could not solve the
problem, Mr Ho had to consult a
veterinarian. Now, the dog had pus
only in the left ear. The skin of
the ear pinnae were both dry
and flaky due to months of
scratching by the paws of the dog.
What should I advise this time?
Irrigation of the ears after
plucking out the thick overgrowth
of ear hairs. The cost would be
lower but the problem would recur
in a few months. Many owners
would not come back again and the
poor dog suffered as his ears
become thickened with big lumps
caused by long period of
infections.
Surgery to open up the vertical
ear canal wall to permit
ventilation and drainage of the
ear would be the proper advice.
This lateral ear canal resection
surgery is extremely effective in
90% of the cases, if performed
early.
"The previous owner gave my son
this dog because of his ear
problems," the senior Mr Ho
speculated.
"Why don't you give away the dog
after the ear irrigation?" I
asked. "The dog will not have any
ear infection in the next three
weeks. In any case, I can't
operate today as the bacteria and
toxins in the skin of the infected
left ear would disrupt any good
wound healing." Mr Ho
appeared receptive to this idea.
Pass the buck to others.
His wife, silvery-haired and
elegant looking in her beige
blouse and black pants usually
worn by her generation was silent
and looked sad to me.
Mr Ho, the son with the big
shoulders and bones and who
towered over his father
interrupted: "No, I will pay for
the surgery." He had a big heart
and had again, taken half a day
off, to bring the dog and his
parents to consult me.
"It is not fair," Mr Ho, the
father said. "The dog was brought
in by the second son and he should
pay for the surgery. Or at least
half of it" The fate of this
Miniature Schnauzer now rested on
the economic well-being of the
second son who had not been
present for the previous two
veterinary consultations.
"Is he running his own goods
delivery business?" I asked Mr Ho,
the father.
"No," Mr Ho said. "He has to work
long hours as he is an employee."
I guessed the second son was
trying to make ends meet as
Singapore goes another run of
increase in bus and train fares
while the global recession shrinks
business and increase
retrenchments. I was glad for this
dog that the first son had been
successful in his studies and now
he had a good job as well as a
heart of gold. Why should he
bother with the ear infections and
pain of a dog not belonging to
him? He was not
materialistic and pragmatic like
many baby-boomer generation of
Singaporeans. Why should he pay
the veterinary bills when he could
indulge in extravagances?
 I
advised them to wait three weeks
and there is a fourth option, a
lethal injection of euthanasia but
I did not even propose this final
solution as it was not good for
the poor Miniature Schnauzer. The
owners decided to return for the
ear surgery one week later after
the medication.
"It is better not to tie the dog
to the side of the back of the
truck," I advised Mr Ho, the
father as he put the down at the
back of the pick-up. "The dog may
get strangulated when you drive or
he may get injured in the event
there is a vehicle accident."
Mr Ho, the father, climbed up to
the truck to supervise the dog.
Now, there were four air
conditioned seats in this Nissan
pick-up.
"Why not put the dog inside the
pick-up with you?" I enquired. You
need to look after yourself as
your bones are fragile at your
age" I said to Mr Ho the father
who was in his 70s.
 "Take
some newspapers to cover the seat.
If this vehicle was a Mercedes
car, maybe the dog should not be
seated inside but this was a
commercial vehicle."
Nurse Ann looked at the utility
pick up and said: "I used to drive
one of this pick ups as it was
practical for personal use and
business but the government made
it unaffordable after six
months."
Most pickups can seat only two
people in the front. Within six
months of the introduction of this
commercial vehicle which could
seat 4 people unlike only two in
the common pick-ups, the Singapore
bureaucrats imposed a $3,000 per
year road tax on this model. It
was fifteen times its
existing taxation as it had the
same high engine capacity as large
saloon cars. Nurse Ann had
to sell it as $3,000 road tax was
hefty and equivalent to the road
tax of a Mercedes car.
Mr Ho did not resent my
suggestions to keep the dog safe
inside the pick-up. This dog was
fortunate to be adopted in a
family who loved him with all
their heart and soul.
P.S
Mr Ho did get his dog's ear
surgery done and from the next few
years, I don't get to see him. I
presume all are well with the
beloved Miniature Schnauzer as no
news is good news (for the dog)!
1. Previous
visit:
April 2002 visit by the Miniature
Schnauzer
2. Ear surgery record:
Lateral
Ear Canal
Resection Surgery in a Miniature Schnauzer
|
2010 CASE: THE MAGGOTS ATTACK THE COCKER SPANIEL'S EAR
AT HOME
Dr
Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
31 July, 2010 |
toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0129 |
|
Visuals are used in this report to
educate the younger generation of
dog owners regarding ear
infections and ear surgery in the
dog.
Videos are ideal but it takes too
much of my time |
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Dog keeps shaking ears frequently
and daily.
Before lateral ear resection
surgery. |
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Lateral ear resection
surgery being performed by
Dr Sing |
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4 days after lateral ear resection
surgery. Goes home so that the
owner saves on veterinary
costs. Ideally, the dog
should stay for 10 days
while Toa Payoh Vets provide
the post-surgical nursing.
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I did not know that the dog
was kept outdoors as I
presumed that the dog would
be an indoor dog as most
Singapore's dogs are housed
in apartments and inside the
house.
Around 14 days later, the
mother and her young adult
daughter brought in the dog
with lots of blood
splattered on the face, ears
and e-collar. There was a
smell of rotting flesh.
"Maggots have had attacked
the dog's ear surgery area,"
I said. "Are there any flies
inside your house?" The
mother said correctly"
"There are no flies inside
my house."
"How about outside the
house? Did you let the dog
outside the house?" I asked.
"There are no flies outside
my house," the mother said.
In Singapore, most
residential areas don't have
flies as the pest-control
people vigorously fog the
environment to prevent
dengue mosquitoes from
breeding.
The daughter protested: "I
have seen flies buzzing
around the dog's ears."
Actually, the dog was kept
on the car porch area
outside the house. So, the
blood smell attracted the
flies to lay eggs on the
left ear. Surprisingly, the
right ear healed perfectly
and was not attacked by
flies.
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14 days after surgery
compared to 4 days after
surgery |
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4 days after surgery |
14 days later. Heals well |
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4 days after surgery |
14 days later. 35 maggots |
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I warded the dog for repair
work of the left ear canal.
Around 35 maggots were
pulled out over the next 3
days and the wound was
stitched up. The dog
recovered after more than 2
weeks at the Surgery as the
mother wanted 100% healing.
Maggot wounds must be
treated early as they do
attack nerves and blood
vessels. If they damage
nerves, they cause
paralysis. If they eat up
the big blood vessels, there
will be internal bleeding
and death of the dog. So,
maggot wounds need to be
treated with respect.
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