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| How to Handle an Elbow Hygroma: A Story of Cedar, the biggest dog in the world Posted: 16 May 2009 07:07 AM PDT
The four of us will be doing a 100 mile ride with about two thousand other crazy people. Mike and I did it in 5 hours and 15 minutes last year and we hope to beat that time this year. OK, back to Cedar. He has a problem called an elbow hygroma. In fact, it's a little more complicated than that. Let me explain. An elbow hygroma is a false bursa or fluid filled sac that develops over the bony protuberance of the elbow. It's a fairly common problem in large breed dogs... like German Shepherds, Labradors, Newfoundlands, Great Danes and Mastiffs like Cedar. These hygromas develop over time due to repeated contact with hard surfaces. When you watch a large dog lie down you'll notice that the elbows are involved and will come into weight bearing contact with the floor. Cedar's problem is more severe. His hygromas are ulcerated, infected and painful. Even though Ellie It is possible to surgically remove these hygromas but the issue always comes back to protecting the elbow enough so that it can heal. In addition, if you remove this tissue you are taking away skin, too, and this puts a lot of pressure on the sutures holding the whole area together after surgery. Often they will split and the whole process starts all over again. I have read reports of an experimental surgery where the surgeons take a piece of the rectus abdominus muscle and a mesh skin graft to repair the void left after removing the hygroma. In addition they apply an external fixation device that limits movement in the joint and allows the whole thing to heal. That sounds like a very involved, expensive and complicated procedure and Ellie and Mike are understandably reluctant to put Cedar through surgery and general anesthesia at his age. So what can they do? One recommendation is to purchase a special bandage that protects the area and relieves the pressure on the elbow so healing has a chance. This special bandage, called an Adjustable DoggLegg, might be just the ticket for Cedar. It pads the area around the hygroma and allows the hygroma to sit in a fenestration or doughnut hole. That way it's not getting banged up every time the dog lays down. They make a model with a soft cover that would allow for more protection and the application of topical medication that would facilitate the healing process. The photos on this site do a better job of explaining how The best solution to hygromas is to try to prevent them in the first place. This is easier said than done, however. You can provide your big dog with a lovely foam mattress dog bed which he may never use. Some dogs like to lie on a cool hard floor, especially in the summer months, especially in a place like Southwest New Mexico. It's certainly worth a try, though, because dealing with an existing hygroma can be a pain as Cedar can attest. We'll get Cedar his special bandage and see what happens. We've got to do something. I'll report back when I visit Cedar this summer in his Jackson Hole summer home. |
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