Really Large Corn?

[NeylasMom]

Neyla has now been on Rimadyl/Tramadol for almost 2 weeks, which seems to have helped the inflammation in her toe, but nothing else (the paw pad is still twisted and oddly calloused and she still holds her leg out and weight bears more on the left leg). So back into the vet we went on Saturday to discuss our options. FYI, I am waiting to see if the orthopedist will see us sooner as his earliest appt. currently is late October so I wanted to discuss pain management options for the interim and figure out if Neyla could go to Maine later this month as planned.

 

Anyway, Dr. Gardsbane threw out the possibility of an oddly formed, larger corn growing on the pad (for pictures see my old thread). So my question is whether anyone has ever heard of this happening, or has seen it. I think it's unlikely, but it does make sense that something IS going on with the pad itself just because of how it's twisted around and there is some definition to that area that you would get with a corn. The other possibility we discussed is something in the toe like a small piece of glass, but unfortunately that wouldn't show up on the xrays so I guess there's no way to tell.

 

So if anyone has heard of a corn like this, or something else that could cause problems with the toe pad itself (even something trying to work itself out) please let me know. Thanks again - I appreciate everyone's input.

 

Jen

[Guest JudiK]

Don't know if this applies or not - but Kixie had an extra nail growing out of her pad. It began when she was about 7, the vet had to laser it out. I now have a foster with one, it has a quick and everything! When she is spayed, the vet is going to remove it.

[Guest SusanP]

My Simon had what the vet thought was a corn that seemed to have spread to take up most of her pad. It was hard and tender, but not twisty or lumpy or anything. We finally gave up and had the toe amputated, which didn't bother her much that we could tell, though she also had arthritis in that shoulder and so never really did stop limping. We figured removing the toe she'd have one less thing to deal with on that foot/leg.

[turbotaina]

Think I'd go out to Radcliffe...

[inugrey]

What about Kellogg since she's closer and pretty darn experienced with grey feet at this point?

[NeylasMom]

Dr. Radcliffe is on my list if Dr. Canapp won't see her soon (which I doubt he will - Dr. Gardsbane told me she tried to get them to squeeze a broken legger in and they wouldn't!). I did talk to Dr. Kellogg on the phone and she had some good input, but that was back when we thought it was definitely the toe.

 

My original plan was to see if Dr. Canapp could see her before I leave for Maine on the 23rd and if he can't, see Dr. Radcliffe this weekend. If I see Dr. Kellogg instead, then I'll have to wait until after Maine to see Dr. Radcliffe.

 

Oh, who to give my money to first, that's the question?

[turbotaina]

Radcliffe. I love, love, love Dr. Kellogg, but Dr. Radcliffe is really specialzed in greyhounds and orthopedics, plus he sees track injuries that Dr. K may not. If you see Dr. K and she can't figure it out, you'd still end up going to Radcliffe. I'd go there first.

[NeylasMom]

Well I FINALLY talked to Lisa at Dr. Canapp's office last night and shockingly they agreed to squeeze her in as soon as they could, which is the Thursday we come back from Maine (the 30th).

 

I was hoping to get her in before we left, but she seems to be doing pretty well this week. I took her off the Rimadyl/Tramadol on Sunday per my vet's instructions and she's had daily walks for the first time in a while this week. I gave her today off b/c she seemed painful after last night's walk, but that was her third day in a row of walking. I'm going to shoot for 3-4 30 minute walks a week right now (alternating days off) and see how that goes. And Dr. Gardsbane did restock our supply of Rimadyl and Tramadol so I can use them in Maine if necessary.

 

Driving out to see Dr. R this weekend would be really crazy so I think seeing Dr. C on the 30th is a reasonable plan. I hope he can help us. Meredith, any chance you think Dr. R would be a better choice over Dr. Canapp? It definitely would suck to drop $125 to see him and then still end up seeing Dr. Radcliffe!

 

So my only real concern now is whether she'll injure herself running in the meantime since she still holds her leg out, but I've noticed she's doing that less this week. On walks, she's at least keeping the leg in line.

[Rickiesmom]

Just my 2 cents worth - Dr. Radcliffe consulted on my Rickie's leg problem and was amazing - he's be my first choice hands down.

[kamsmom]

I looked at your other pictures and was wondering if it looks anything like this:

 

 

This one was almost like a long "extra" nail on her pad. She (Isis) had torn up her foot about six months ago and had spent about two months healing at the vets. We think that this corn is more of scar tissue and that it may come back later. Here is a picture of the "after"...

 

 

 

Sorry that they are fuzzy, I took it with my phone at the vets office.

 

Edited to add that the vet only charged me $39.00 to do this... office visit and all

Edited August 15, 2007 by blambdin

[NeylasMom]

It's not quite that well defined. It looks more like a big callous but has some edges that are defined like a corn would be. The link to my original thread, that has pictures, is in my first post in this thread, if that makes sense.

 

[turbotaina]

Hmmm...Dr. Canapp is really good and he does have a good deal of greyhound experience, I think he did his orthopedic residency in Florida (he was there for some reason) and saw lots of greyhounds there. He is also the most highly recommended orthopod in the metro area. However...if I ever needed to go to an orthopod again for Turbo, I'd drive the 4.5 hours to Radcliffe again in a heartbeat for a DX. He knows his stuff and more particularly, he knows greyhounds. If I needed to get orthopedic surgery for a pre-diagnosed condition, I might go to Canapp - I've no doubt in his abilities at all. For the DX itself though - Radcliffe.

 

Huh. I never realized how fortunate we are to actually have such a great selection of vets in our area - between Kellogg, Gardsbane, Canapp and Radcliffe being a drivable distance...Kinda nice

 

Blambdin - that's one heck of a corn there!

[NeylasMom]

The saga continues...

 

Last night, while picking Meredith's brain on what to do, I looked at Neyla's paw again and noticed that the suspected corn area is much more well defined than just a few days ago. So I took new photos. Here's the best one:

 

 

So do we think it's a corn? Yes, no, maybe?

[Guest lizmego]

I'm no corn expert but maybe a combination of a corn and dry/cracked pad?

 

It might be good to place Neyla on some skin-care specific vitamins? I was thinking of these kind....your vet should sell them. Solve the dry/cracked pads first and you might be able to see the corn more defined afterwards?

 

DermVet Skin Care Formula 3V Caps

OR

[turbotaina]

I dunno - super hard to tell, but does the adjacent nail hit there when she's walking or does it splay properly?

[kamsmom]

Go to the local feed store and pick up some bag balm. If there is a corn in with the already cracked pad it won't hurt to put the stuff on it. It will soften up the pad tho.

[NeylasMom]

I dunno - super hard to tell, but does the adjacent nail hit there when she's walking or does it splay properly?

 

Pretty sure it splays properly. That pic is misleading I think since she's laying down.

 

Go to the local feed store and pick up some bag balm. If there is a corn in with the already cracked pad it won't hurt to put the stuff on it. It will soften up the pad tho.

 

I have some at home. I've been meaning to start putting it on her pad anyway since we originally thought it was just cracked from her odd gait, so I'll start doing it now and see what happens.

 

Dr. Kellogg does have a Saturday appt free so I think I'll probably just take Neyla in. It's only $40 a a few hours out of my day to have someone who really knows corns look at it.

[turbotaina]

Oh good! She's fabulous. And if it IS a corn, she'll be able to handle it for you. I guess you're still holding on to your Canapp appointment, just in case?

[NeylasMom]

Oh good! She's fabulous. And if it IS a corn, she'll be able to handle it for you. I guess you're still holding on to your Canapp appointment, just in case?

 

Definitely. Although I just realized that I am supposed to be auctioned off in a date auction that night. Our appt is at 5 so hopefully I will be able to get out of there in time to drop the dogs off somewhere and get ready if I still need to see him.

[turbotaina]

Definitely. Although I just realized that I am supposed to be auctioned off in a date auction that night.

 

I'm going to leave that one alone...

 

And what - you'll probably have to leave the meeting early because you know it will still be going on full force by 4???

[Batmom]

Doesn't look like our former :) corn ... but I've only seen the one (in its many incarnations). One thing is, if you can soften her pad up some, it may be easier to tell whether it is a corn or not. You must feel so frustrated -- hoping you can get some answers and your girlie some relief.

[NeylasMom]

You must feel so frustrated -- hoping you can get some answers and your girlie some relief.

 

Pretty much, especially since Dr. Radcliffe suggested a "hyperkeratitic lesion from an autoimmune disorder" yesterday after looking at the new photo, which is yet another new (and totally scary) thought.

 

Anyone have any links to good info on that (Meredith has already done some research for me, thank you Meredith!)? The lesion part sounds like a generic term that could be caused by multiple things, but I'm having trouble finding any info whatsoever. He did mention a biopsy to determine if that's what it is. Is that something that typically requires anesthesia?

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement Batmom, and everyone else who has been following my ridiculous threads! It really does help to have your support.

[Burpdog]

Part of it looks like a corn, the rest like a crummy pad

 

Email Dr. Cynda Crawford at the University of FL (Gainesville) She is who Ohio State sends the "corn" stuff.

 

I've p.m.'d you her email address.

Edited August 17, 2007 by Burpdog

[feemandvm]

You need to clean out your in box... I tried to PM you back but your box is full.

 

Here was my reply:

 

Nothing jumps out at me as being "diagnostic". Dr. Kellogg really likes dermatology issues so she would be a good person to see! It doesn't seem like a corn to me but w/o an examination it would be hard to guess what else it could be. I'd get in to see Dr. Kellogg and then go from there!

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

My boy Morgan got a puncture on one of his toes which got infected. After we finally got the infection cleared up, the toe was about twice the size as normal from the scar tissue. When he puts weight on the toe, the toe kind of rotates and the parts of the toe other than the pad come in contact with the ground. It causes him to limp. At the time amputation of the toe seemed drastic. Little did we know he would become a tripod later. In hindsight, we should have amputated the toe but we can't now.