ear polyps, lump under ear, surgery scheduled

Sparkles is 1.9 years old or so, and suddenly one morning I noticed that she was moving jerkily and had a very slight head tilt. I got her on baytril/doxy which she hated and would not take, so we switched to clavamox. Dr. Liston was thinking inner ear infection. She didn't hold her food differently or have any signs of PTS. Then a lump quickly formed under her right ear and we were thinking Zymbal Gland Tumor. It never scabbed over, but a polyp appeared in her ear, very quickly too, I didn't notice it one day and suddenly it seemed to be there. Dr. Liston said he could remove it and it's not an invasive surgery, but he's never removed a ratty ear polyp before. He thinks it's relatively easy, but we do know that it could grow back because it's hard to get the whole stem and root out. I worry about a lot of bleeding and if he doesn't have the right cauterizing tool, that's a problem. We sent pics to Dr. Brieger in Montreal and he said he can't say for sure if he can remove it or not, he'd have to see how it's attached. Dr. Liston did see that it's not just a lump of dried blood/pus, but it is attached underneath to skin. Dr. Liston has no surgery spots until Sept 27th, which is so far off. He thinks she'll be fine until then, but if this is a tumor, it won't matter that we waited because it will be the end of her anyway. :sad3: So, we called Dr. Mobarak who has years of experience with rats, and we have an appointment for Sparkles tomorrow (Saturday) for surgery. We don't want him to proceed if it will jeopardize her life. She has a slight URI, and now she's on baytril too (she seems to not mind the banana flavored one mixed in a tiny bit of cat food). She is happy and active and eating fine, but she occasionally tries to scratch at her ear. The lump is the same, hard to say if it has grown much at all. Here are some pics. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. We're really worried about our sweet Sparkles.

Wow, I haven't seen one of those. I can see why you are so concerned. Is the vet going to do a biopsy so you'll know for sure what the growth is? I really hope she does OK and they are able to remove it.

Fingers crossed for your sweetie. That looks nasty.

Do you think it's painful for her? Her eyes looks pretty bright. I hope it's benign, but yes, sometimes growths can re-occur. I send healing wishes to your little one for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

Update on Sparkles: Last Saturday, Dr. Mobarak (who I will never go back to even if he's the last vet on earth) took an xray to determine if the lump on her face is an abscess and said it was, and a big one, so he said he drained it and removed the hunk of dried pus/blood from her ear. Half of her face and ear are shaved and she looks like the Phantom of the Opera (pics coming, I need someone here to hold her because her head moves around continuously and she's tilty). He can't say for sure that it's not a tumor or related to an infected tooth root either. She's on doxy/baytril/metacam. She was so happy to see me, she was staring at me and boggling. But then Dr. Mobarak saw her scratching her abscess and he made a cone out of plastic and put it on her. She was absolutely freaked out and was going bonkers. He said to leave it on, that it's worse if she scratches, rather than being stressed with it on. How could she eat though, she can't put her hands to her mouth, and the cone kept her from getting around in the carrier. She was really distraught and fighting so hard to get it off. I went out to the car, called RK Busy and said, "I can't stand it. She's so upset." And of course she said, "Take it off." So, she had fear pooed all over the place and here I am with a poo smeared rat, trying to get a cone off her head that had been stapled AND taped together. She was much relieved. I just didn't want to wait until the 27th to see Dr. Liston, just in case something worse happened in the meantime. We won't know until time passes if it truly is just an abscess that drained into her ear, or what's going on. She also has a crooked mouth and her bottom teeth are angled to the right. :sad3: I think the abscess is draining into her mouth and ear. She seems fine, not in pain, happy to come out, eats soft food, uses her litter box. But my heart is sinking because she's already been on baytril and clavamox for inner ear when it all first started and the lump has continued to grow. From the looks of the tiny incision on it, I would say Dr. Mobarak did not drain it much at all. It's still a huge lump.

It could still be a ZGT. I don't want her to suffer, but I don't want to have her PTS if there's a good chance she can recover from all of this. Will her mouth ever return to normal?

It almost sounds a bit like what my butter Bean went through but for him, it was affecting his eye more and then it affected his ear.
You can read about it here. viewtopic.php?f=21&t=32685&hilit=Butter+Bean&start=45

Awwww, Jorats, I just read the whole story, it made me cry at the end, all the good wishes and hope upon hope and trying all you could, and then poor Butter Bean passed away, so very sad. Poor sweet boy. I'm so sorry. :sad3:

I don't know, she doesn't have a lot of the things he exhibited, but they could start any time. I'm going to take it day by day and see if the added doxy does anything. I still haven't been able to rule out a ZGT. I'll post pics tonight when Glen gets home and can hold her for me. She's the sweetest little girl, I just love her.

I would get her antibiotics that work better on anaerobic bacteria if the abscess is that serious.

Which ones do you recommend, Victoria? I can call and pick some up tonight. Thanks!

I'm so sorry you and she had such a bad experience.
From the picture you took, it really doesn't look like an abscess, but I'm not a vet. My fingers are crossed for you and Sparkles! I hope Dr. Liston can help her.

I have an appointment with Dr. Liston tomorrow night. I'll have to tell him that I took her to another vet Saturday, and what happened. I'll get other meds Victoria suggests, and we can also see about her crooked mouth, how bad her teeth are, and also, she has a URI, and makes sounds while sleeping and when she comes out, mostly the monkey sounds. :sad3: Thanks Joanne, I hope Dr. Liston can help her too.

I am not surprised that her bite is off. If there is a tumor/infection in her ear, that will push on the jaw joint and could very well move her mandible out of place. Addressing the problem should allow her bite to return to normal.

Ok, that's good, I'm glad to know that it can resolve itself if the abscess can be gotten rid of.

Can't wait to see what the vet says. I'm glad she is doing fine now, though. Who knows, maybe, even with this terrible thing, she will still have months of a happy life left?

The antibiotics that are better for abscesses are Chlorpalm, zithro, Clavamox and metronidazole. (There may be others I'm missing.) Chlorpalm is supposed to be excellent for this type of infection but it is brutal on digestive flora. Clavamox is pretty rough as well. If they work though, it's worth it. I would see about combining one of those with Baytril. (Make sure you get concentrations for the meds so you can check them.)

My gut tells me it's not a simple abscess. I don't know what it could be but that would be pretty serious even for an abscess that originated in the jaw or teeth.

How much Metacam is she getting? Is she in pain?

Finally got pics now: she's been on Clavamox for two weeks with no results, then added Baytril about 5 days ago. Stopped Clavamox as vet suggested baytril and doxy. She hates the metacam and it's brutal trying to get it into her. She is not wanting the baytril/doxy mixed with cat food anymore either. I'm just going to have to find another thing to mix it in, or force syringe it.

Poor baby! Give her some kisses for us :heart:

Poor thing... it's in the exact spot for a ZGT.

Poor baby.

:heart: :cuddle: Healing vibes from all of us.