Possible Hidden Corn

[Guest Amy_Bee]

Gretchen has been limping for about 2 months. She's had x-rays, been on pain meds, been to her regular vet AND to an orthopedist. No one was able to find anything. The orthopedist said the next step would be an MRI to rule out neurological problems. Gretchen has no other symptoms. She's eating, pooping, has energy, normal weight, etc. She is negative for lyme. I started to suspect that it was a corn because she walks easier on carpeting and lawns and because padded shoes have helped her. However, there is nothing protruding from the paw pad. There is a circular grey mark, but it's flat.

 

Yesterday I took Gretchen to a vet in Old Bridge, NJ who is more grey-savvy, hoping she'd be able to tell me what was going on. She said it's _possible_ that it's a corn, but she can't be certain. She said that she could go into the paw pad to investigate but was hesitant to do it because if there's nothing there, it will just make the limp worse. Can I ask any of you who have had procedures done on the _inside_ of your greys' paw pads how long the recovery was, etc? The other option is to get the MRI, which is $1,800, or just keep soaking the paw and using the shoes.

[TheFullHouse]

If you're seeing a circular spot on the pad, it's highly suspicious of a corn. My Andy had one also that was flat but caused him enough pain to make him limp. We had it hulled out and the limp went away until the corn came back. If she's walking on carpet and grass easier than on concrete I'd think it was a corn.

 

As for cutting it out, we didn't with Andy, we just kept it hulled.

[Guest Amy_Bee]

The weird thing is that none of the vets she's seen, even the grey-savvy one, said that there was a high possibility. (I know from experience that people on GT often know MORE than vets!) One huge reason why she was hesitant to say that it was probably a corn was that when she pushed on it, Gretchen retracted her paw _slightly_ but didn't yelp, and she said most greys will have a dramatic reaction if you deliberately press on a corn.

 

By the way, when it's hidden so it's flush to the paw pad, what's the difference between hulling and cutting it out? It's all invasive, isn't it?

Edited January 20, 2010 by Amy_Bee

[Guest boondog]

It sounds like a corn. Does it look like this? We had Boon's corn removed surgically and I'd never do it again. I agree with Judy on hulling.

 

ETA: I just saw your second post. Not all greys will yelp. Boon will pull his paw back slightly. Hulling is not invasive. There is a link within the one I posted above.

Edited January 20, 2010 by boondog

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

Vivie's corn was just a discolored circle on her pad. Just a little lighter in that spot. They hulled it out and it's still tender. From the limited research I've done, cutting it out is NOT the way to go. Does more damage than it's worth. Hulling is the way to go.

 

And Vivie didn't shriek in pain when they showed it to us at the M&G. She pulled away, but didn't yelp.

[Guest Amy_Bee]

It sounds like a corn. Does it look like this?

 

 

It's much less obvious than in those photos. I believe the vet offered cutting out because there's nothing obvious to hull? Does that sound right?

Edited January 20, 2010 by Amy_Bee

[Guest boondog]

It sounds like a corn. Does it look like this?

 

 

It's much less obvious than in those photos. I believe the vet offered cutting out because there's nothing obvious to hull? Does that sound right?

 

Yes, those photos show some pretty big corns. A lot of times they're not that bad, especially at first. You might have to wait until there's more to hull. Can you post a picture?

Edited January 20, 2010 by boondog

[TheFullHouse]

Andy started limping before we ever saw the corn. We went the same route, x-ray's and nothing, his leg was perfect. Finally about 3 or 4 weeks after he started limping, we found the corn when taking him back for more x-rays. He never yelped or screamed when we pushed on it, he would just pull his paw back and that was his way of telling us to leave it alone, it hurt. They're pesky, painful little buggers but you can greatly reduce the pain and limping by hulling them and you can get a Therapaw boot for walks. Those are supposed to make a huge difference for them when walking on concrete.

[Guest Amy_Bee]

I did buy Therapaw boots for her, as well as indoor slippers. She hates both and will take off the slippers. The boots come off after walking in them for a while, but they help a lot. She hasn't been wearing them for the last several days because I was out of town and had to leave her with family, who simply let her into the backyard. When I got her back she had a strange sore between her toes (vet checked it yesterday), so I'm waiting for that to heal with Panalog and Epsom Salts first.

 

I don't have a working digital camera, but I just took Gretch to my sister's. She took a photo and hopefully will e-mail it to me so I can post it here. In the photo, it actually looks a lot more like a corn than in person.

[Guest Amy_Bee]

I can't seem to get the photos to post. My sister e-mailed them to my Mac and they're labeled IMG2014.jpg, etc as attachments to the e-mail. Can I e-mail them to someone to post?

[TheFullHouse]

I pm'd you my email address. You can send them to me.

[Batmom]

If you soften up the paw pad for several days with Epsom salts soaks 1-2 times per day and applications of something like Bag Balm in between, *often* that will allow better differentiation of corn margins so it can be hulled.

 

Hulling is way different from surgery. The corn is like a little rock with very minimal blood supply / attachment to the pad. Hulling involves working an instrument under the edges of the corn so it can be just popped out. Worst case, a teensy pinprick of blood at the bottom. No bandages, stitches, recovery time, etc. required.

[Guest MyBoys]

My Sean's corn looked just like the picture, I started putting human corn softner on it every other day and covered it with a tiny peice of, (NOW DON'T LAUGH) duct tape. Seens there is something in the glue that draws the corn to the surface and along with the human corn softner helps to really soften it up. I would change the little peice of duct tape everyday and when we went for walks I stuck a little peice of moleskin on it to cushion it. It took about 6 weeks but that nasty little thing finally came out enough that I just used my thumb nail and got it all out.No more limping and so far it has not come back. So I guess now there a million and one uses for duct tape. I actually took a picture of the corn after I got it out in cae nobody believed me Okay now does anyone want to see my corn picture??????

Edited January 20, 2010 by MyBoys

[TheFullHouse]

Okay, here are the pictures. It's a corn in my opinion. That is exactly what Andy's looked like, just bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[turbotaina]

Tell your vet to do a nerve block on the toe where she thinks there's a corn. If your dog stops limping after the toe is numbed, you will have isloated the lameness to the toe. Most small animal vets don't think to do nerve blocks as they are usually done on horses.

 

And yup, I spent $3k on getting a corn diagnosed and it took a nerve block to do it because the corn wasn't visible.

[Guest MyBoys]

Sure looks like a corn to me.

[turbotaina]

Oh, just saw the pics Judy posted for you. Yup, that looks like a corn. Plenty visible

 

Print this and give it to your vet

[Guest Amy_Bee]

It's funny because when you look at it in person it looks a lot less visible. And it's completely smooth, so you can't feel a bump when you run your finger over it. For some reason it really showed up in the photo.

 

What's involved with a nerve block? And can all vets do it?

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

Buzz's corn is a flat circular gray spot on his foot pad. I have a vet tech friend of mine cut it out once a month. He also will limp on hard surfaces but walks fine on carpet.

[TheFullHouse]

A nerve block is used to diagnose it. You really don't need to have it done because there is an obvious corn on that toe. Follow Batmom's advice. Once you've hulled it, she should walk a lot better. I saw MyBoys had another method you could try also.

[turbotaina]

A nerve block is used to diagnose it. You really don't need to have it done because there is an obvious corn on that toe. Follow Batmom's advice. Once you've hulled it, she should walk a lot better. I saw MyBoys had another method you could try also.

 

Right. It's a pretty visible corn, so a nerve block isn't needed.

[Guest boondog]

Yep, that's a corn. Poor girl. I hate, hate, hate corns.

[Batmom]

Yep, corn. Looks like it *has* differentiation from the pad already. If your vet is not familiar with hulling, I would print out the Grassmere article and take it in to them.

 

Here is the link to the Grassmere article: http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corn_hulling.htm

[Guest Amy_Bee]

Yeah, this new vet said she had hulled many corns and even has a grey that comes in regularly for hulling. That's why I took her at her word when she said this wasn't necessarily a corn.