Helping the homeless: Charlotte's delicate middle ear surgery

Each year we donate a pro-bono budget to the Cat Haven for them to utilise for advanced surgeries and professional work performed by us at no cost. One of our Cat Haven cases for this year was quirky little Charlotte. Charlotte is an energetic young girl who developed a polyp inside her middle ear. The polyp was so large that it pressed on the vital nerves that are responsible for her balance, hearing and facial muscle function. This meant that Charlotte developed a head tilt with her head twisted to the side, and had some other neurological deficits with her eyelids not functioning properly either.

Middle ear polyps are benign masses however due to their location they need to be surgically removed. Charlotte’s polyp had ruptured her ear drum and resulted in a painful middle ear infection. She was given a strong course of pre-opererative antibiotics at the Cat Haven before being transferred to the Cat Hospital for her surgery.

To access the middle ear to remove the polyp, we performed a surgery called a “ventral bulla osteotomy”. For this surgery we open up the bony bulla cavity to directly visualise the polyp and remove it including its root. This surgery gives the best chance at success with a very low risk of recurrence of the polyp compared to other less invasive procedures.

Post-operatively it is common for cats to develop a Horner’s syndrome where the eyelids droop and the pupil changes size however this is usually temporary. Charlotte’s head tilt was severe before her surgery but after only a week we could see significant improvement. It is likely she will still have a slight head tilt for life due to the nerve damage from the polyp.