At Sitara Animal Hospital we believe that every ear exam should involve thorough otoscopy (looking down the ear canal to the ear drum) to rule out a foreign body, mass or ruptured ear drum. Most ear and eye issues that affect your pet will be non surgical (ex: infections, wounds, allergies); although a few conditions do require surgical intervention. Chronic ear infections may benefit from a thorough ear cleaning under anesthesia or surgical treatment to improve air flow into the ear canal and reduce the occurrence of ear infections. Tearing in your pet’s eyes can mean an infection is present or it may be a sign the cornea (outer layer of the eye itself) has been damaged. In some animals, the cornea may be damaged by the eyelid hairs surrounding the eye. Surgical intervention involving the eyelid improves the comfort in these animals. It also reduces the chances of corneal scarring and enhances the animal’s vision in the long term. Some puppies will develop a prolapsed third eyelid gland (cherry eye), these are surgically corrected because failure to do so causes irritation, increased risk of infection and can lead to dry eye in some animals.