A question for Dr D

Question

We have three Bouviers, 2 adults and a 9 month old pup that is about 80 lbs. We winter in AZ and the dogs spend most of their time indoors laying on a tile floor when they're not outside chasing rabbits. This has resulted in the puppy getting hydromas on both elbows. We took him to the vet and the vet drained the first one. It came back in a day to the same size it was. When he developed the second one we took him back and now the vet wants to surgically remove them and also remove the excess skin.

After researching the issue surgery seems to be a risk that I'm not willing to take without discussing this with a vet that I trust. Consequently I'm asking if surgery is necessary, or should I just monitor the swelling and take action only if it's warranted. The first hygroma is finally starting to retreat a bit so my gut feeling is to let nature take its course.

BTW - all 3 dogs have large beds and the furniture is thiers, but they like the coolness of the tile floor.

Any advice?

dturm · Answer

I really don't like doing surgery on hygromas. These are not problems with the skin or the fluid filled sac, it's more of an issue of physics and structure. The surgery site is hard to heal because of repeated trauma when laying, and they tend to get infected. I also don't like to drain them - what happened is the usual, they fill back up and there is a good chance of introducing bacteria and getting an infection.

I've found bandaging and "life style" changes to be as effective as anything (not always that rewarding, though). Bandaging a "donut" around the elbow can protect from further trauma and requiring the dog to always lay on soft surfaces is required (but VERY difficult to accomplish).

Sorry, no easy answer here.

Doug, DVM

mainerbob · Answer

When we had Bouvs we had "Chill-O" pads for them to lie on.  They were water filled pads.  Unfortunately the youngest liked to chew and we had to repair them several times.  They did work.  Can't remember where we got them.  Never had any hygromas, though.  Good luck.  Great dogs.

greyghost · Answer

dturm wrote:I really don't like doing surgery on hygromas. These are not problems with the skin or the fluid filled sac, it's more of an issue of physics and structure. The surgery site is hard to heal because of repeated trauma when laying, and they tend to get infected. I also don't like to drain them - what happened is the usual, they fill back up and there is a good chance of introducing bacteria and getting an infection. I've found bandaging and "life style" changes to be as effective as anything (not always that rewarding, though). Bandaging a "donut" around the elbow can protect from further trauma and requiring the dog to always lay on soft surfaces is required (but VERY difficult to accomplish).Thanks for feedback Doug.  We're still trying to determine how we limit his activity, he's had the run of the house and MH since we got him so this could be a challenge.  We tried wrapping the elbow but he removes it within minutes.  This AM I found a product called Dogleggs that appears to be a potential long term solution.  Have you ever used them? If so, what were the results?

greyghost · Answer

MainerBob - Thanks for the suggestion, I'm ordering a large one for a test.  If it works, I'll order 2 more (one for each dog).BTW - We lived in Dracut for 17 years.

mainerbob · Answer

Greyghost:  I hope they work for you.  We lived in Waterville when I joined the list.  Moved to Worcester 3 years ago.  As you can see from the dogs in the signature we are downsizing. We spend much of the New England winters in Texas.

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