This series of photos was documented by Dr. Heidi Ward-McGrath from Vetcare in Masterton. This dog presented with severe ear ulcers that had been a problem for 8 years. Many other approaches had been tried and the dog’s ear canal was completely blocked with cysts and infected ulcers. Heidi surgically opened up the ear canal so that it can now drain and the clay was used post-surgery to debride the wound and speed the healing process. Heidi’s words to me were that the surgery site had healed 3 times as quickly as she would have expected with no complications. The client is now using clay packs for their dog to assist with management of the ear and to get on top of any infectious signs before they get a chance to take hold.
Dog’s ear prior to surgery.
Inside of ear during surgery.
Post surgery recovery.
4 days after surgery and clay packing started.
The ear packed with clay “putty”.
4 days later with daily packing. The clay was left in for several hours until it shrunk and the plug was loose and easily removed.
The clay is now used as needed to manage the ulcer problem by the owner.