Best treatment for hygroma

Re: Best treatment for hygroma

mariette asselbergs — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 13:07:33 GMT

I was always of the "leave well alone" side. However, in Mozambique I did one together with a very good human surgeon (I did the anaesthetic, she did the surgery). She very carefully peeled the inside out of the hygroma and stitched the wound so that it was on the inside of the elbow. It healed beautifully, no problem, and the dog did not have any bedding, was lying outside on the dry dusty ground.

Mariette

Re: Best treatment for hygroma

Andrew Henfrey — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 22:47:38 GMT

I saw one in a Golden Retriever about 6 weeks ago. I got it some DogLeggs from Veterinary Instrumentation. Basically they are neoprene padded elbow protectors with an over the dorsum and around the chest straps. About £120 I think. There are some measurements required to order the correct size. There is a DogLegg website also with fitting details.

I talked to the owners a couple of weeks ago and they say the hygroma has reduced considerably but not gone. I wasn't touching it with a blade!

Re: Best treatment for hygroma

Rob Reid — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 21:46:14 GMT

Don't go anywhere near this with a scalpel would be my best words of wisdom! You'll have a nightmare getting it to heal afterwards. Avoid aspiration if at all possible as well.

Given enough time these tend to resolve, educate the owner as Stephen has said above. I tend to use NSAIDs in all cases and anti-biotics if I've got one that starts to discharge. I've had a couple of troublesome chronic ones, one owner came up with a novel solution that worked really well - sweat bands (like a tennis player would wear on their wrists.) They provided just enough compression without slipping that they kept the lesions controlled.

Re: Best treatment for hygroma

Stephen Courtney — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 21:21:55 GMT

Don't touch it surgically. You will have an awful mess on your hands that will be a nightmare to heal.

Advise the owners to provide him with deep,soft , well padded bedding, and try to discourage lying on hard floors. Warn them that the hygroma may well get very large especially if traumatised. Advise them that they are a real problem to operate on as the dog will keep traumatising the surgical site every time he lies down. Usually they stabilise, but if they get too big the effect of dependent oedema can make them grow very pendulous, and in such a situation surgery might be unavoidable.

They can also easily become traumatised and or infected, warn the owner of this too.....

i have only ever once advised an owner consider surgery on one of these, after much dithering she declined ( it was a very large traumatised one that had become infected) and after several weeks of antibiotics, nsaids and cleansing with dilute hibiscrub, the hygroma magically shrank and healed, and the dog now looks like he has a spare scrotum on his elbow.

Just my 2p, possibly a more ninja type surgeon may have different one!