Help With Corn!

[Guest greytchloe]

I am looking for a vet with experience hulling corns in the Boston area....can anyone recommend one?

 

Also, has anyone seen a corn develop a tiny red dot in the center? I'm wondering if that may mean the root is working out, or if it suggests this may not actually be a corn?

[Guest Smiley]

You may want to PM Dr. Feeman who is here on GT-he is a very grey savvy vet in Ohio who can probably make a recommendation for a vet in your area. I believe his name is FeemanDVM here. . . It's a good place to start. He started us on the hulling process, but we ended up having our vet surgically remove it and he was able to save the toe. It has never returned, but she does now have other corns on other toes. Good luck!

[greyhoundgang]

lots of good information for you and vet about corns at Greyhound Gang. One article written by a vet. Other articles from hound owners with experience.

 

click on link above for direct access. Or go to Greyhound Gang. click on LEARN. click on MEDICAL. click on CORNS.

[Guest Fasave]

Dr. Fallon, Millbrook Animal Clinic on Mass Ave in Arlington has hulled my guys corns many times. Only issue is that he may not be taking new patients. Might be worth a call just in case he would be willing to see you. Where are you located in the Boston area?

[Guest greytchloe]

I am on the South Shore, but a successful hulling would be worth a drive! I gave my vet the protocol/write up from Grassmere (I think?) but I really don't think we have ever gotten much of it out. It has never been cone-shaped, seems like its just getting a bit off the top. I'm hoping that someone with more experience--nothing against my vet, but she has never seen any before--might have better luck, and I would be able to see how much we should be getting out. Also hoping they might be able to explain the red dot.

Surgery...I thought a lot of people on Greytalk said that was the worst thing to do? Do you think it worked well, are you planning on doing it again for the new corns?

[Batmom]

Any chance you can take a picture?

 

When Zema's were starting, they had a pinpoint in the middle but I'd've described it as a little hole rather than a red dot.

 

You can't really hull them unless you can distinguish the edges from the rest of the pad. Sometimes a couple days' application of Bag Balm or similar moisturizer will soften the pad up enough that you can distinguish.

 

Are you sure there isn't a foreign body in there?

[Guest greytchloe]

I will try to get a picture up here, but as I have never done that, and my home computer is dead right now, it wouldn't be for a couple of days. I usually soak it a little beforehand, and put bag balm for ~a week after.

The corn was originally diagnosed by an orthopedic vet, who worked with a vet that saw a lot of greyhounds and their corns, so he had heard of such things. I don't think he had ever seen it before, he was planning for surgery until that other vet told him absolutely not to do that.The other vet never saw it.

So, since nobody with corn experience has seen it, I guess I can't be sure it is a corn. Whatever it is keeps coming back. That is another reason I'm looking for someone with corn experience to take her to, I was wondering if a tiny thorn or something could cause irritation and something similar?

[Batmom]

Hmmmm, good question. I don't know. Zema's was clearly a corn, and corns do tend to keep coming back. You'd expect a foreign body to always be there or to abcess and work its way out.

 

Might be worth taking the Grassmere article to a different vet?

[Guest Fasave]

I have not heard of good results with surgery and personally would not allow it on my grey. One of my greys has had a corn for five years and with regular maintenance and a thera paw bootie on walks, he's fine. What I do is to put duct tape on the corn for a couple days and then if a can, I pick out the middle of the corn. I then dremmel the edges down on a low speed and put duct tape back on. I haven't needed to have it hulled in a couple years. I also think Sutton animal hospital has a vet that is very experienced with corns. Might be closer to you.

[Guest greytchloe]

Yeah, I might end up doing that if I can't find anyone familiar/experienced with the process. Thanks for the help, I'll try to post a picture from work Monday.