Veterinary Quarterly

ISSN: 0165-2176 (Print) 1875-5941 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tveq20

Tumors of the External Ear

A.J. Venker-van Haagen & I. van der Gaag

To cite this article: A.J. Venker-van Haagen & I. van der Gaag (1998) Tumors of the External Ear,
Veterinary Quarterly, 20:sup1, S7-S7, DOI: 10.1080/01652176.1998.10807380

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01652176.1998.10807380

© 1998 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Published online: 18 Mar 2014.

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• SOFT TISSUE SURGERY & ONCOLOGY
high proportion of chronic otitis extema cases the initiating
etiology will be found to be associated with a dermatosis and
it is not surprizing that the ears will be the first indicators of
TUMORS OF THE EXTERNAL EAR
A. J. Venker-van Haagen 1 and I. van der Gaag
INTRODUCTION
Tumors of the pinna occur at all ages in dogs and cats. A sur-
vey of removed tumors in dogs included histiocytomas, mast
cell tumors, sebaceous gland adenomas, fibromas and unspe-
cific sarcomas (I ,2). Histiocytomas can be removed by par-
tial resection of the pinna. In almost all other cases amputa-
tion of the pinna is necessary to prevent further extension of
the tumor and eventual metastasis. Mast cell tumors should
be excised with a wide margin of surrounding tissue. In
many cases the pinna and the ear canal must be removed to-
gether.
Squamous cell carcinoma is the most important tumor of the
pinna in the cat. White cats seem to be especially susceptible
to development of squamous cell carcinomas, but it occurs
also in colored cats. The tumor first resembles a nonhealing
granulomatous inflammation at the edge of the pinna and is
easily misdiagnosed as an inflammatory lesion. Cytologic
examination of material collected by fine needle biopsy or
histologic examination of surgical biopsy material will re-
veal the diagnosis. Unilateral or bilateral amputation of the
pinna is an effective therapy, especially because metastasis
seldomly occurs in an early stage.
In the cat, amputation of the pinna is a simple procedure.
Under general anesthesia the pinna is removed by cutting
along its base with scissors. There is remarkably little bleed-
ing, and any bleeding that does occur is controlled by liga-
tion of the vessels. The skin of the two sides of the pinna is
joined over the cartilage, beginning with three or four sutures
placed at equal distances over the curved wound. The closure
is completed by many more sutures, taking care to cover the
entire cartilage. The use of suture material that is slowly re-
I Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine. Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80154, NL-3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands.
THE EAR: SURGERY FOR CHRONIC OTITIS
R.A.S. White1
INTRODUCTION
The value of surgical intervention to improve ventilation and
drainage in the management of chronic ear disease has long
I Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, United
Kingdom.
87 THE VETERINARY QUARTERLY, VOL.
skin disease. Identification and management of an under-
lying dermatological problem should therefore be a primary
aim when investigating and managing the chronic ear.
sorbed is preferred, as these sutures remain up to four weeks
before falling out spontaneously.
In the dog, the principles of the surgical technique are simi-
lar, but there is considerable bleeding. In dogs we prefer to
begin the surgery with an incision of the skin along the base
of the pinna on the convex side. The arteries and veins are
freed one by one and ligated separately. When this has been
completed the pinna is removed by cutting the cartilage and
the skin on the concave side, using scissors. From this point
on the surgery is similar to that in the cat.
In dogs the development of a tumor in the ear canal is not ex-
clusively a geriatric problem, but older dogs are well repre-
sented. The tumors found are ceruminal gland adenomas, pa-
pillomas, ceruminal gland carcinomas, and squamous cell
carcinomas (I ,2).
Tumors in the external ear canal occur more often in older
cats than in younger cats. Various tumors occur in the ear
canal in cats, and sometimes more than one type is found in
one ear canal. They include ceruminal gland tumors, adeno-
mas, and carcinomas (1,2). As in dogs the clinical signs are
dominated by purulent discharge, and the tumor can be diag-
nosed by otoscopic inspection. Total ablation of the ear canal
is indicated in dogs and cats, and should be performed at an
early stage if possible.
In cats middle ear polyps are found in the external ear canal,
and sometimes in the nasopharynx. The polyp grows through
the tympanic membrane into the external ear canal, and cau-
ses purulent otitis. Diagnosis is made by otoscopic examina-
tion after flushing the ear canal. The polyps are found in cats
of all ages but mostly under 8 years of age (I ,2).
The polyps are removed via an incision in the ear canal. The
canal is closed after the removal of the polyp. The tympanic
membrane is healed and transparent within 4 weeks, at least
in cases in which the middle ear disease is cured.
been recognized. More than 150 years ago, cutting off the
pinna was recommended for dogs that suffered with otitis
extema. Improving the ventilation of the outer ear by inci-
sing the lateral wall ofthe vertical canal was described in
1853, whilst this concept was later improved by removing a
section of cartilage from the lateral wall to prevent the open-
20, SUPPLEMENT 1, APRIL 1998