Author Topic: really upset...hygroma  (Read 17668 times)

Offline Krystal_00

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really upset...hygroma
« on: July 02, 2008, 11:41:06 pm »
hey guys,


well my saint, decker, who is 1 has developed a hygroma on his front left elbow. its been a few months now....he goes from being fine to limping and not playing for a few days to being fine again. i took him to our regular vet and he said he had no idea what it was (that didnt stop him from charging us 300 bucks for xrays and meds tho). i am on vacation right now in the city and thought id take decker in to a vet here to see if he could help us. well the vet drained the hygroma and bandaged it up. the bandaged has slipped down and it is no longer covering the shaved area...and i can already see that it is swelling again.

anyone else going through hygromas? i am so worried that i have caused him more pain by letting the doctor drain it. he is resting now...hs got a cone on so he wont chew. i am just so scared that he wont recover right or that it will come back.....ahhhh, dogs, so stressfull!! aslo, whats your opinion on doglegz? i just saw the site today....and wondering if it would be worth it
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2008, 01:14:52 am »
also....it is midnight now, and decker is still not sleeping, and he is usually passed out long ago. i am worried sick about him, that i may have caused him more pain by letting the vet drain his elbows. he is just laying on his bed panting....he wont go to sleep and that is very very unlike him. he love to sleep.  i am going to take him back to the vet asap tomorrow and get his leg redressed(and they had better not charge me for it...he chewed off the other bandage and it was 60 bucks to get it back on....he didnt chew this one, it just was not tight enough and it fell down) i am so worried about him i have a stomache ache, but just being able to write this down has helped alot. :(

and sorry for any spelling mistakes, im posting from my phone and they keyboard on it is sooo small!!
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline ruffian

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2008, 04:16:33 am »
Krystal, I know someone on another forum that has a Mastiff with one, and she was told to not have it drained, because it can cause an infection and rarely cures it, they usually just come back.  She was told to get these for him:
http://www.dogleggs.com/files/gallery.cfm



Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2008, 08:35:49 am »
thanks guys.

it is morning now and both elbow bandages are now around his ankles. his elbow is swollen again pretty big. i am waiting for the vet to open so i can take him back.

yea i wont be going back to that vet. which sucks because there are three vets in my town and one i already wont go to, and the other i not taking new patients. and now this, so looks like i have no vet...damn small towns.


he wasnt given any kind of anti biotics...he was given dermaxx(think thats what its called) and they only gave me that cuz i asked. they were going to give me metacam but we already had that and it did nothing. so a 100 dollar bottle of deramaxx is what i got.


When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline Guardian Angel's White lightning

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2008, 11:28:37 am »
TItan has two hygroma's. If they are drained they will always come back, they are there for a reason, they are protecting the boney prominent of the elbow.  Bad idea to drain it!!!!  If drained the dog has a higher risk of developing elbow dysplasia.

Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2008, 05:19:48 pm »
we went to the vet and he took off the bandages. i now have the one leg that was drained wrapped in a tensor bandage for compressioon and protection (there is gel in it) so we will see how that goes. already he is noticibly better. he ate a full bowl of food and got up early for his morning poop(when hes in pain i have to force him out to go) i took his cone off and hes much happier now....he got a new bed hes rather pleased with as well.
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2008, 10:29:09 am »
well, today deckers paw is swollen. i took off his tensor a few hours ago cause i thought maybe i had it on too tight, but the swelling hasnt gone down. ive been giving him his anti inflammatories as well. what should i do?
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline kathryn

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2008, 10:38:23 am »
I'm so sorry that both you and Decker are going through this.  I would probably call the vet and let them know that his paw is swollen now too.  Get their advice but if he's walking on it fine and it's just swollen I would probably give it a little longer and see if the swelling goes down. 
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Offline Rajas Mom

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2008, 01:34:50 pm »
My Saint has been going through the same thing.  I was lucky that my Vet pretty much knew what it was as soon as I described it to him over the phone and the entire office visit (wrap included) only cost me $40.00.

I had the same problem with the wrap though.  It didn't stay in place, but the vet had already prepared me for this.  He recommended that I just keep rewrapping it, but the trick is to not do it too tight as paw swelling, as you seem to be experiencing, will occur and the dog can't tell you that it's too tight (as a human would).  Hence, never wrap and then leave for the day.  I generally rewrap it when I return home from work, that way I have several hours to observe for possible swelling.

Raja's paw swelled several times during my early wrapping days.  Remove the wrap!  She also developed a rash from the wrapping, so keep creams on hand.  What has worked best for me so far was the human elbow brace I purchased at Walmart similar to the one in this link:

http://www.feelgoodstore.com/cgi-bin/feelgood/cate_id/ebw/prod/72650/item_detail_fg.html?keywords=&srcmode=&sortbyprice=

It has velcro straps and is easily adjustable, almost seems like it is made for her elbow!  I'm half thinking about buying three more for each leg (joking, sort of) as I can't seem to break her of her plops on the brick patio and she likes to lay down everywhere but her beds.

And, as already pointed out, draining isn't really a good idea as it can introduce infection, so I would be monitoring closely for signs of that.  Sorry to ramble, and you have my sympathies.  I'm a first time hygroma sufferer myself.
Raja (Our Princess), 3 yr St. Benard
Charlie (Our Calico Cat), 3 yr
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Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2008, 01:49:33 pm »
thanks very much. i have a human elbow brace for him. ive taken it off and put him to bed.

i was laying in bed with him, petting him and i notice that he doesnt smell right. i dont know how to explain it, but i know what he usually smells like and it is off. its not a terribly bad smell, but it is not his smell. also, under his chin....is the beginnings of what i think is a hot spot. its a line of red skin and theres yellow stuff in the fur. it would be right where his cone (that the vet put on, told me that they didnt have one quite big enough but this one "would do") was sitting. what should i do? i am going to trim the hair around it with scissors and see if that dries up the yellow stuff.


ohhhh deckie :'(
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.

Offline Krystal_00

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Re: really upset...hygroma
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2008, 02:15:17 pm »
thanks...ive called everywhere and no where carries it.....thank you tho.
When the last fish has been caught and the last tree has been cut down...Only then will man realize that he cannot eat money.