A PUPPY born with no ear opening has made a sound recovery after undergoing surgery at Cave Veterinary Specialists near Wellington.

A CT scan revealed that Rosie, a Labrador puppy, had atresia of the right ear canal. This meant that she was born with no ear opening, severely limiting her hearing.

Malcolm Jack, head of surgery and a specialist in small animal surgery, managed to create a new opening for the dog.

Malcolm said: “Rosie’s ear condition is rare and she was admitted to Cave to correct the lack of ear opening.

“A CT scan of her head was performed and showed the left ear to be fine but atresia of the ear canal in the right ear, which meant she had no ear opening.

“Her actual ear canal was relatively healthy, so surgery was performed to open up her ear by making an incision and stitching the skin inside the ear canal. Having a healthy ear canal allowed us to avoid a more invasive surgery which would have involved removing the entire ear canal.

“It’s not very often that we undertake such an operation, however, it went very well and Rosie has since returned to us for checks to make sure it is healing.

“She has a lovely nature and it was a delight to be able to help her and her owners.”

Rosie's owner, Cornwall-based Jim Searight, added: “We first realised there was a problem shortly after we brought her home and were cleaning her ears.

“We were concerned due to the potential invasiveness of the surgery but were reassured by Cave’s thoroughness. Rosie’s much better now and her hearing is also much improved.”

Cave offers comprehensive, specialist-led services in anaesthesia, cardiology, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, orthopaedic surgery and soft tissue surgery.

As explained on the Cave Veterinary Specialists website, the team's top priority is to provide outstanding care for your sick or injured pet.

The clinic is located on George's Farm, Nr Wellington, West Buckland, Wellington, TA21 9LE.

The vets is part of Linnaeus.

For more information on the vet clinic, take a look at their website or search for Cave Veterinary Specialists on social media.