Hygroma

[Renatem6]

Good morning out there,

Quick question? Asa will be going back to the vet on the 23rd to have the Hygromas (both elbows) drained and a steroid injected into the elbows. Have anyone ever heard of this procedure before and if you did, do you recommend it? I am on the fence about having it done. He is so little and the procedure isn't cheap. I would do anything for my guys but, it seems like this is going to keep happening as he is a very playful puppy and we have NO carpet in our house. Can you please advise of any other treatments anyone has heard about to treat hygromas? Poor baby looks miserable but it has not slowed him down!

[Hiraeth]

My 'treatment' advice is to get floor rugs and carpet runners for your entire home. You can potentially also purchase an elbow protector in order to prevent hygromas in the first place: http://gear.tripawds.com/2012/09/14/...elbow-hygroma/

Slippery and hard floors including wood, tile and cement, are not good for Danes of any age, but especially growing Danes. Constantly being on hard floors can cause splayed (or hare) feet and really increases the risk of a traumatic injury due to slipping and falling while playing.

Probably not the advice you want to hear, but unfortunately, that's just part of Dane ownership.

[CarolB]

Just leave them alone. They will eventually go down on their own. The new way of thinking is not to drain them and inject with a steroid.

[kahluadanes]

I also would not drain them... they have found that doing so can end up causing problems with the joint later on.

[MyZoo]

My female had 1...didn't do anything and after several months it is 99% gone. She didn't seem bothered by it and the threat of complications/infection were not worth risking treatment in my opinion.

Note: My girl hasn't spent a day on hard surface - sleeps in bed with me at night and on the couch or kennel with carpet and pile of blankets during day. She was almost 1 when it appeared so maybe its just a "growing" thing

[Paradis]

Just leave them be and try to get soft comfy beds all over the place for him. They'll go down in awhile and hopefully not return. I have heard of stories of people draining them and the dog having life long issues with elbow infections and open sores on their elbows for the rest of the dog's life. I've known several dogs that have had hygromas as puppies and they all have corrected themselves and they haven't had issues since.

[Angel7292]

I wouldn't drain it unless it is a problem. You'd be creating an opening that allows it to become a problem, if not one now.

You make sure the dog has soft beds to sleep on, isn't laying on the floor or concrete outside. Even then, it still happens. I have 3 twin size beds on the floor plus many other middle size ones in my home and it still can become a problem. Giant dogs + boney parts = trouble. You do your best and even with all the fluffy beds in the world, it still can happen.

Phin has always had a bit of a hygroma on his right elbow. The first few years it would swell a tad bit, get a little squishy and then go back down after a few months. It hasn't been an issue for the past year or two. I'm sure it will now that I've said something. LOL We did nothing for this and it's benign and came and went. Like I said, I haven't seen it in probably a couple years now.

Phin actually had an ulcerated complex hygroma early last year between his back leg hock and foot. It's a boney protrusion that he must have whacked going into a sit position. It's part of his back leg that touches the floor whenever he is in a sit position. It got ugly and took many months to heal it. It was weeping blood and clear fluid through the skin, swelled, caused an infection right at the joint and had fluid draining from the upper part of his leg down to the foot. It was already ulcerated when we stuck a needle in it to sample the fluid because we needed to know what antibiotic to put him on. That just made it major worse and it leaked all kinds of fluid, became more infected, so on and so on. This particular hygroma has been a problem since, will probably ulcerate again and we don't even put Phin in a sit position anymore so it won't touch the floor. An ulcerated hygroma is hard to fix and even harder to keep away.

You can buy elbow wraps for a hygroma but it's almost not necessary. We actually had to have one special made for Phin's back leg but it wouldn't fit right. His hygroma wasn't on the hock itself and it couldn't be adjusted. You can also just buy a human elbow wrap and stuff it with soft cotton. That will also protect it when he goes down. However, you have to be very careful when you do stuff like that because you don't want it accidentally too tight and the fluid goes somewhere. Ask me how I know this! I'll tell you. My vet wrapped Phin's back hygroma one day after we had to sample it again and he didn't want it leaking in my car. When I got home, ABOVE the hygroma was the bulging lump threatening to burst. I cut off that vet wrap.. which was NOT tight in the slightest, but it inhibited the fluid inside and it just burst at the hygroma. That fluid has to go somewhere and I was shocked. Like I said, the wrap wasn't even tight, but it built up pressure up his leg and wow.. I looked down and that thing had a huge lump coming off his leg. Just cutting off the wrap let the fluid go down his leg and come out the hygroma instead of bursting at the place it was collecting. His leg was just a mess.

That small hygroma caused a lot of misery. MANY vet visits, x-rays to check the joint, collecting fluid samples and culturing it with lab testing, meds, etc etc. MONTHS to heal that sucker. We had no choice but to sample Phin's because his was a major ulcerated problem from the get-go. Don't stick a needle in it until you have to, is my thinking. Even a needle prick is an opening for infection and I can tell you that a hygroma infection is a hard one to fix. However, if it's just a basic hygroma that you are describing, I would leave that it alone. It generally doesn't hurt, it's just a fluid sack from being banged and you just work extra diligent keeping him on soft surfaces. In most cases, it's just soft squish and not a problem. Also, I've seen several instances here on DOL of those that did have it drained but they always just came right back. If it were my dog, I'd leave it alone.

[oceanbluedanes]

I would not drain it and I would not inject steroids.

Hygromas tend to go away on their own, it just takes a long time. The best thing to do is forget it exists.

I've had a dog have one that took a year to go away completely. It was not massive but it was noticeable. She was never treated in any way for it.

For more severe cases, I know some who have used this product successfully: http://www.dogleggs.com/standard-len...able-dogleggs/

[Renatem6]

Thank you to all that replied! I have heard to leave them alone but, the one on his left elbow is HUGE and I'm scared that it will burst. Skin can only stretch so far right? The right one wasn't too bad to begin with but, now it is as big as his left one. I do have carpet rugs all over the house. He mostly plays in front of the couch and we have an area rug in that spot. He sleeps with us, so the he has a soft bed and while in his crate I have a thick quilt and soft pillow in there. I know he plays hard with our pit Gabby. I just don't really recall him "slamming" his elbows on the hard wood or tile in the kitchen. So, it amazes me that they are the size they are. I sent up two attachments to show you how large these are. Is it common for them to be this large? My first Dane did not have this problem so I am just being overprotective this time.

[Angel7292]

They are pretty big, but they are still just fluid filled. There was this special needs dane here on DOL and his hygromas were ginormous! He was a rescue.

I still wouldn't drain them. I'd try some other things first. If they are JUST there, meaning not ulcerated or infected, I would leave them be. Look at the Doggleggs company that Jennifer suggested. With enough time laying only on soft stuff, they should start to go down after a while, but it usually takes months. The fluid just needs to be reabsorbed by the body and no more trauma to his elbows. There are several posts from DOL members that they had drained a hygroma and it just came right back.

He needs more then area rugs to lay around the house. He needs some serious padding and redirection on to the very soft spot or they will never go down. Heavy dogs with pointy elbows and no real padding on them, need to be kept on a dog bed. Don't let him lay on the floor or area rug, just keep redirecting him to a squishy dog bed. If not, they will never go down.

Crosby was like a DOL mascot. He was just as sweet as sugar but had some major neurological issues and he died very young. Nice to think of him today though. Let me go see if I can find some Crosby pics.

Edited to add pic:

Oh boy... so many sweet videos of Crosby in my search, just makes me teary eyed all over again. I found one post from Cara, Crosby's mom, that she used Kinesio tape for Crosby's hygromas. His became so large. Unfortunately, Crosby fell down so much, his were never going to heal and go away. Here is a pic I found of him:

[oceanbluedanes]

Based on your photos, I would say your pup would be a good candidate for the Dogglegs.

I would still most definitely not drain or do steroid injections... Draining really is just a temporary fix as they can refill immediately and you are also creating an opportunity for infection.

Trust me I know the feeling of frustration with hygromas. You want to just fix it and make it be gone. But it really is best to leave it alone and ignore it.

[Renatem6]

Thank you thank you thank you~ I am so very grateful for this website. Debo, my first Dane never went through any of this so it was very disturbing to see Asa go through it. They are so very obvious and when we go someplace with him, I get the "what are those?" all the time. They just look horrible! I have called his vet this morning to let them know that we wont be getting anything done to them and that I would like to wait it out. I am so glad I asked, otherwise I would have gotten them drained. Poor little guy! We are going to look at dog beds this weekend as well and if I have to I will move that bed all over the house just to make sure he is laying on something soft. I feel bad that they are caused from our flooring choice. LOL. Who knew I was going to have another BIG dog in the house!! Love them both though and I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for loving my kids just as much!~ I am truly blessed! Asa and Debo thank you too!