Button Up...................!

No, it's not your overcoat, or your lip, but read on and you will find out exactly what it is!

I have mentioned my sister's dog Boscombe before now. He is the one who is the size of a small Shetland Pony and is as gentle as a lamb when it comes to kittens, remember him with the tiny Phez?
Being the size he is, his tail regularly smashes into things when he wags it, and occasionally his head does the same. Last week my sister noticed that he had a lump on his ear, a fairly substantial lump too, so off to the vet they went!

Phez using Boscombe as a pillow a few years ago.

And the diagnosis? A hematoma, a huge blood sac that is caused when the 'ear-flap vascular plumbing bursts and fills the area between the cartilage and the skin'. Now, in case you all think that I am a qualified vet and understand all this technology...............I just Googled it!!!! The commonest cause of this problem is when the dog shakes his head violently and the ear connects with something hard, like the furniture! Or an ear irritation can cause the dog to scratch really hard and damage the 'plumbing'. But, as the article went on to explain, the hematoma won't suddenly (or even slowly) explode and spray blood everywhere! (This is the spelling that is used now, but I know it is also spelled 'haematoma', just in case you think I can't spell!)

So, there was Boscombe looking decidedly lopsided and sad while the vet discussed with Diana and Norman what he would be doing. There are two options: one, leave it and it will slowly, very very slowly, drain away and return to almost normal with some crinkly wrinkly skin to show for it; or, two, resort to surgery that sorts the problem out quicker but with the risks that always accompany a surgical procedure.

So, the next morning Boscombe went 'under the knife'!

Once the ear is shaved, an 'S' shaped incision is made, this shape avoids scar distortion of the ear that can occur if a straight incision is used. The fluid is drained out and the ear is washed out . Now, here comes the interesting thing.

They should change his name to 'Buttons'......

Pairs of buttons (one on either side of the ear) are used to sew across the surface of the ear to hold the skin close to the cartilage and to bring the edges of the incision close together. The buttons spread the load of the sutures and prevent any tearing. And because the buttons keep the ear flat, they prevent further fluid filling the cavity!

So, in a few days, Boscombe will go back to have his buttons undone!

I hope his ear doesn't fall off!

And I wonder if Diana will use the buttons on Norman's shirts if he loses one here and there??