OT civie, ear surgery ??

my civie (non diabetic) older girl really needs surgery on her scarred down ear to open it up, it keeps getting infected (yeast, bacteria, fungus you name it) because it's all closed up and doesn't drain, or dry out

she also has allergies which means she produces a lot of black waxy crap that gets stuck in there because even with the special thin qtips it's nearly impossible to get them in there to dig it all out
she gets her ears flushed during dentals but that's only once a year, she really needs some permanent solution to this problem


my question is, has anyone had this done on their cat (or dog even, it's a common thing for long eared dogs to need this, it's called a lateral ear resection, i believe)

she may only need a modified version of that surgery - she really only needs an wider opening to her ear canal

the vet estimate was very high and i am also wondering if i should shop around for a better price?

any input welcome from anyone who knows anything about this kind of ear surgery, thanks!!!!!!!!!