Vets

[finnbear270]

Just been up to the vets with Marvin the dog, He's got a massively swollen rear hock joint, been treating for a sprain following vet's advice, six weeks on, I reckon it's possibly going to be a tripod dog, foot beginning to increase in size also, He's not in major pain, more of a discomfort situation, sent these pics up for a telephone triage.

 

[dartmoordog]

Poor lad, hope you can get it sorted.

Have they drawn off a sample and had it analysed?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Oof! Poor fella. Odd place for a sprain, surely? Looks like a hygroma? Does he spend a lot of time lying on a hard surface?

 

[finnbear270]

Sofa's / Dogboxes with blankets, Beds etc, What is a Hygroma?, fells like a small amount of fluid on one side, & hard bony on other side

 

[Stalker62]

Sofa's / Dogboxes with blankets, Beds etc, What is a Hygroma?, fells like a small amount of fluid on one side, & hard bony on other side

hygroma
[hi-gro´mah] (pl. hygromas, hygro´mata)
an accumulation of fluid in a sac, cyst, or bursa. adj., adj hygrom´atous.

 

[wildfowler.250]

Not the nicest job but you could take his temperature? In ‘normal’ circumstances that would probably warrant further work up x-rays. It’s emergency only currently so would depend what the practice thinks / is able to accommodate

ps will he put weight on the foot?

 

[Selous]

Several things sprung to mind but at this stage it is impossible to be certain.
If there has been an injury to the collateral ligament complex that give stability to the talocrural joint then with time you can get significant fibrosis (scar tissue) around the damaged ligament. The dogs collateral ligament is fairly complex in this region and has a long and short part. The implication of this is that there can be a significant injury to the ligament but relatively little instability when the hock is palpated and collateral ligament integrity checked. If this is the case then the swelling will reach a maximum size and then grow no further. Lameness may be present initially but then become less severe with time.
The other possibility is that unfortunately there could be a growth/tumour present. This would keep growing and at some stage may become more painful. I would suggest starting with some xrays to see if there are any bony changes associated with the joint or adjacent tissues followef by a biopsy to try to determine whether the abnormal tissues have any evidence of malignancy. This information would also be necessary to give more detailed prognosis and direct future treatment.
Hope this helps
S

 

[Selous]

In relation to your other thread, this doesn’t look like a hygroma to me, the swelling is in the wrong place as they are almost always on the point of the hock or lateral aspect of elbow. This is centred around the talocrural joint. If it is fluid it will feel like a water balloon not hard or firm tissue

 

[finnbear270]

Hard on the inside aspect, fluid on the outer