Teca advice

[Kelly3]

My 8 year old baby needs this op but im worried and not sure if we should go ahead with it. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[Manydogs]

Maybe [MENTION=15310]helsonwheels[/MENTION] can give you an option. I know this surgery is very serious. Knew someone whose dog had it,outcome was not good.

 

[helsonwheels]

My 8 year old baby needs this op but im worried and not sure if we should go ahead with it. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Basically it’s a bad yeasty infection so deep down that’s hard to reach. We have a member that went through a bad yeasty ear issue and nothing worked for her bully except this recipe she posted. Ive been doing this recipe over a year for Nyala’s tail pocket except I add 5drops of tea tree. Tea tree NEEDS to be mixed with a carrier oil so you’re good as it has coconut oil. I know it works as I haven’t had her tail amputated. I would definitely try this mixture way before any surgery. And even this surgery TECA is not guarantee. The oil Arborvitae is very hard to find. Replace it with thuja oil as it’s in the cedar a family. I would do the section (at the bottom) where it says “extreme inflame n infected part for your dog. 2 drops of lavender n 4 drops of fractionated coconut oil. FCO n oils you’ll find that all at your health food store. Ask for the pure oils n not the diluted ones. I would also add 1 only ONE drop of tea tree oil on the swab.

From [MENTION=3991]Saalwi[/MENTION] /Sarah

It's been a little while since I've posted so to catch up...Sgt.Schultz is turning 10 tomorrow and is still full of himself. His health has been pretty good (lots of maintenance) but I wouldn't trade him for the world.I've been home cooking for about 3 years (in a pinch we use a grain free honest kitchen that we add a protein to) and this seems to work well for his system. His chronic ear infections have been healed with a blend of essential oils that we apply weekly with a cotton balls - better than any antibiotic or vet supplied ear drop.

Here is the essential oil recipe for ear infections or just maintaining good ear health. Spray on cotton ball and wipe out ears ...don't spray directly in ears. In a 2 ounce glass spray bottle, combine:

15 drops Lavender
15 drops Geranium
15 drops Frankincense
15 drops Basil
10 drops Arborvitae

Fractionated*Coconut Oil*to fill the bottle about 3/4 of the way full. Shake bottle well before using. Use once a week to treat ears that have an ear infection or once a month as a preventative measure in ears that are prone to recurrent ear infections. If ears are especially inflamed or infected, dilute 2 drops of lavender in 4 drops of fractionated*coconut oil*on a cotton ball and apply lightly to soothe the inflamed ear area.

Please keep us posted!

 

[Kelly3]

George has had so many skin problems. Last year he had cushings disease and C c . He can no longer have any meds that contain steriods hes on daily atopica and weekend spronox. His ears have got so bad that the nasty liquid just dribbles out his ear. There is no meds left to try. He is always shaking his head and you can hear the liquid sloshing around. Its been going on for around a year now. So this is a last resort. Im so worried that im gonna put him through this for nothing if it doesn't work or worse still he dosent make it through the op. But at the same time i cant do nothing. ��

 

[Dakota Bully]

George has had so many skin problems. Last year he had cushings disease and C c . He can no longer have any meds that contain steriods hes on daily atopica and weekend spronox. His ears have got so bad that the nasty liquid just dribbles out his ear. There is no meds left to try. He is always shaking his head and you can hear the liquid sloshing around. Its been going on for around a year now. So this is a last resort. Im so worried that im gonna put him through this for nothing if it doesn't work or worse still he dosent make it through the op. But at the same time i cant do nothing. ��

I am so sorry to hear what you and George are going through. It is awful to see your fur baby in pain. Can I ask what type of food you feed him? Also, how often do you give him baths? Is he near water where he can get his head wet? The questions are probably too basic or obvious, but it is worth asking. Unfortunately, not everyone has a vet that is spectacular with Bulldogs or may not always have one anywhere near them.

 

[Kelly3]

Hi. Hes on dry hypoallergenic food.(he also has a very sensitive tummy) even chicken upsets it! . He is only bathed once a month or so. Hes not keen! And doesn't get his head wet.

 

[Kelly3]

Maybe [MENTION=15310]helsonwheels[/MENTION] can give you an option. I know this surgery is very serious. Knew someone whose dog had it,outcome was not good.

In what way was the out come not good. Did the op fail?

 

[helsonwheels]

In what way was the out come not good. Did the op fail?

I should of been clearer but you never mentioned in your first post “all meds are out and been a year” with this issue. Poor George.

Basically the vets removes the canal n drum. Hearing lose will occur. Yes they will probably feel some vibration. I’m not saying it’s not good but at 8yrs old is always a risk. Vet will clean all inside n put a drain after surgery so liquid comes out. Why did your vet wait a year to decide TECA? When you say he’s on hypoallergenic food, what’s the ingredients? We can help and guide you but we need to know all. A lot of members in here had EB for years n decades so they too can guide you on the right path.

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=15364]oscarmayer[/MENTION] Any insight?

Sending lots of healing prayers for your baby.

My guy had horrible infections and we used Calaro (spelling?) once and shortly after we switched to raw food... ears a golden now


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[Dollys Owner]

If middle ear is really infected and the outer ear canals are all scarred then the TECA surgery may be necessary, since the drops won't get to middle ear to relieve infection. My dog has been slightly better on the raw food, less shaking of head and less debris on the cleaning pad when I wipe her ears out. Switching to frozen raw might be a last resort to try before the surgery, but that's not recommended for a dog on cyclosporin ( atopica ) . Your vet should have switched George a long time ago to Apoquel or Cytopoint, as both have a lot less side effects than atopica. Organ transplant patients used to take cyclosporin, and it caused a lot of serious issues, especially kidney damage. Now they take tacrolimus instead of cyclosporin.

 

[Lalaloopsie]

Often at certain point of ear inflammation scar tissue prevents any external medicines from getting into affected areas, so if the vet says he needs TECA, then, probably, eardrops wont help. Especially it is not realistic to expect that medicine will get into middle ear.
Surgery is scary, but take into account that ear inflammation is VERY painful. Especially middle ear inflammation. I’m afraid that you poor baby is in constant pain, so may be surgery is better option.
I would ask the doctor if he is going to do LBO too (lateral bulla osteotomy), which is opening middle ear area. It is important to do, as it helps to clean middle ear from pus and debri. Failure to do so results in recurrence of infection. This is the most common cause of failed surgeries. Just Lateral Wall Resection or Vertical Canal Ablation won’t do the trick. These methods won’t fully solve the problem, so ask specifically about LBO.
What concerns hearing loss, dogs can still hear partially after surgery, via bone conductivity. Anyway, now his ear canal is blocked with inflammation and liquids. He probably won’t hear worse than now after surgery.
I agree with others, too, that it is extremely important to address his nutrition issue. My dog was never able to eat commercial food, so I homecook for him. But I never have to clean his ears. He has no discharge from ears. May be consider raw feeding or home cooking for your dog.

 

[oscarmayer]

November 2016 we had "our" Kash go through just this. He was 6 at the time and in generally good health. When Kash came into rescue he was very subdued, withdrawn. You could see there was nothing there...he ate, drank, slept and stood. He never interacted with any of the other bullies. Our Vet/surgeon said that his calcified ears were likely causing him a constant headache. Once the ears close up and the tissue around the canal becomes hard there is no way to treat other than TECA. Infection can be controlled for a time with oral antibiotics, but the best remedy is surgery.
The bilateral surgery took 2-3 hours, IIRC. He was dopey when we picked him up late in the afternoon. By the time we got him home he was starting to wake up a little. He slowly came back to Earth and I noticed that he seemed a little more alert than usual...just hours after surgery!. Over the next few days, weeks his energy level rose to new highs. He was a different bully. The headache was gone and he felt BETTER! Kash is still with us today and his ears have been trouble free ever since. He can still hear, BTW...although we have to raise our voices a bit.
Two weeks for general recovery, 3-4 months for fur to grow back and he looks completely normal. What the Doc pulled out of his head looked like a bloody cigar, 2 of them. Be advised that anything can happen in surgery, and with an older Bulldog the risk is greater...but this particular surgery can improve quality of life by leaps and bounds.

 

[Mcleanb7]

November 2016 we had "our" Kash go through just this. He was 6 at the time and in generally good health. When Kash came into rescue he was very subdued, withdrawn. You could see there was nothing there...he ate, drank, slept and stood. He never interacted with any of the other bullies. Our Vet/surgeon said that his calcified ears were likely causing him a constant headache. Once the ears close up and the tissue around the canal becomes hard there is no way to treat other than TECA. Infection can be controlled for a time with oral antibiotics, but the best remedy is surgery.
The bilateral surgery took 2-3 hours, IIRC. He was dopey when we picked him up late in the afternoon. By the time we got him home he was starting to wake up a little. He slowly came back to Earth and I noticed that he seemed a little more alert than usual...just hours after surgery!. Over the next few days, weeks his energy level rose to new highs. He was a different bully. The headache was gone and he felt BETTER! Kash is still with us today and his ears have been trouble free ever since. He can still hear, BTW...although we have to raise our voices a bit.
Two weeks for general recovery, 3-4 months for fur to grow back and he looks completely normal. What the Doc pulled out of his head looked like a bloody cigar, 2 of them. Be advised that anything can happen in surgery, and with an older Bulldog the risk is greater...but this particular surgery can improve quality of life by leaps and bounds.

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can I ask how much it cost?