Momo's Corn Saga Continues

[LBass]

MoMo has a corn on one of the two middle toes on her right rear leg. It first became apparent late in January. The vet and I decided to move her coming dental up to before Sandy Paws so he could remove the corn at the same time and get her some relief from the discomfort the corn was causing. The wretched thing (the corn, not MoMo ) was back within 10 days. The vet and I were both dismayed and surprised at the speed of return.

 

We decided to try to hull the corn, hoping that hulling would be a good maintenance approach for the corn, giving her pain relief while I tried all the various remedies that work for some corn dogs but not on others--duct tape, Bag Balm, bee propolis, Abreva, etc. The hulling was done on 2/25. The vet and I sort of did it together and MoMo was a real trooper through what had to have hurt like the dickens. A week after the hulling she was at Sandy Paws, limping and wearing her Therapaw.

 

Through all of this, she has not had even one day without pain and limping from the corn. Not only that, but to my eye the thing is getting bigger and bigger. There is a dark area that is growing back where we hulled the corn but now far more of the surrounding pad tissue feels hard, just like the corn area. So, I took her back to the vet yesterday.

 

He confirmed my observation that the corn now occupies at least 2/3 of the pad on the affected toe. We talked about options for our next step...try another more drastic corn removal or amputate the toe. I told Dr. McCravy what Dr. Radcliff had said about corns at Sandy Paws--that his best results with corns has been to remove them but that it requires going deep down almost to the toe tendon--and that is what we decided to try. Neither of us wants to amputate the toe unless there is no other option because it is a weight bearing toe and, if Mo is prone to corns I don't want to start removing toes she may really need if her future is corny (sorry, I couldn't resist ).

 

Anyhow, he is concerned that it may be difficult to successfully close the tissue of the pad with stitches after the removal of the corn because of the sheer size of this blasted corn and the nature of paw pad tissue (not as stretchy as other tissue). He is still confident that her pad will heal even if the stitches fail us and that is should not cause the pain and limping that the corn does. Obviously, we'll do our best with the surgery and nursing to keep the stitches in place. I'm wondering if I may need to crate Mo when I'm at work so that I can leash walk her for potty trips rather than let her use the dog door.

 

Anyhow, this long wailing post is mostly to ask for good thoughts for MoMo in Thursday as she has her second anesthesia in about 5 weeks. I wish I could have avoided surgery again so soon but I am also not comfortable having her limping and in obvious pain with no relief. The vet did send out the initially removed corn tissue for analysis and it is indeed "just" corn tissue--with the rapid rate of growth I had been worried about some sort of weird cancer.

 

 

--Lucy

[Guest Smiley]

We are one of the very few who had success with the surgical removal of a corn. This was only after hulling, dremeling, etc. over a span of years. Our vet is wonderful and we were lucky to have such a great result. After Peanut had her surgery (also along with a dental), we kept her on leash for (if I remember right) about 3 weeks just to make sure the pad healed. When all was said and done, the pad looked great-you couldn't tell there had ever been a corn or surgery. I hope this next attempt will be successful for you. We are battling huge corns now with Gus, our new guy, and we're trying the compounding corn cream from Pittsburgh. If that doesn't work, we'll likely opt for the surgery to try removing it again if it's an option. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Guest greytchloe]

I never tried surgery with my grey's corns, but did try most of the other things that you listed. What finally worked for us was an antibiotic. I'll have to look up the name, (something like ezithromycin ?)but I had found reports of it working for some dogs and so tried it. After a short time on it, her corns started shrinking, and in about 20 days were no longer visible. They did come back, after I think about a year, so I'm now getting ready to put her on a course of the antibiotic again. I know you're all set for your surgery, and don't mean to confuse you or dissuade you with other options, but wanted to let you know about it in case you wanted another option to try.

Best of luck!

[OwnedBySummer]

I never tried surgery with my grey's corns, but did try most of the other things that you listed. What finally worked for us was an antibiotic. I'll have to look up the name, (something like ezithromycin ?)but I had found reports of it working for some dogs and so tried it. After a short time on it, her corns started shrinking, and in about 20 days were no longer visible. They did come back, after I think about a year, so I'm now getting ready to put her on a course of the antibiotic again. I know you're all set for your surgery, and don't mean to confuse you or dissuade you with other options, but wanted to let you know about it in case you wanted another option to try.

Best of luck!

I'm guessing it was Erythromycin.

 

Summer doesn't have corns (thank doG!) and I was of the understanding that they are a virus? (not sure why an antibiotic works in that case). My big question is: are they contagious??? It doesn't sound like it but I've wondered about that, especially if they are a virus.

Edited March 15, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[kjw]

Being a bit of a kitchen witch, I'm experimenting with a combination gel I made myself - so far it appears to be slowing the growth rate, but it's only been on for a few weeks. Millie unfortunately has corns on 3 different feet, so I'm able to try 2 different methods and still have a "control" corn to compare results with, so to speak. She used to have more corns, but we managed to treat some homeopathically. Why they didn't all dissappear, to me, supports the multi-factorial theory, it's clear these guys get corns for more than one reason.

 

Sending lots of healing thoughts out to all our "corn dogs".

[sweetdogs]

We also had success with surgery. Conor had them on each front paw - he couldn't walk anywhere - hard or soft surface - without limping. Had them both removed at the same time by a vet that's done a lot of corn removals. Took a while for them to heal & I think he still has some sensitivity, but they haven't come back. For pavement walks, I do use his neopaws but he is now very comfortable with his front paws. The corns on his back paws have been hulled repeatedly, bee-propolised, corn creamed & now duct taped. Since using the duct tape, I've been able to hull them with my nail rather than a dental elevator so I'm hopeful this is somehow working. I'm very interested to hear someone else has used antibiotics successfully. I think it was NJGrey that had luck with it as well. I'm gonna see if I can try that next.

 

Anyway, good thoughts for MoMo - corn suck a$$!

[Guest greytchloe]

"I'm guessing it was Erythromycin.

 

Summer doesn't have corns (thank doG!) and I was of the understanding that they are a virus? (not sure why an antibiotic works in that case). My big question is: are they contagious??? It doesn't sound like it but I've wondered about that, especially if they are a virus."

 

 

My limited understanding is that they think they may be viral, because tests for bacteria have shown nothing. The fact that an antibiotic does have an effect on some dogs would seem to contradict that. So, maybe some are viral, maybe some have a bacterial component, maybe some are a mechanical/physical irritation (those for which silicone implants work), maybe who knows what the heck is going on!

I have not heard of any case where they have been contagious, the other grey in my house has none, and you would think if a grey at a kennel/shelter had them and they were contagious then a lot of the dogs there would then have them, but this doesn't seem to be the case.

What I know and understand all too well is what torture they are! It is horrible to have something seemingly so small cause you're dog such constant pain, and you would do anything to help it, but there really is no one sure fix. Its try this cream and see, try this boot and see, try this hulling and see, surgery, etc., and in the meantime your dog just suffers. Then you'll be out walking, and meet someone who inevitably says "Whats wrong with her foot?", and you tell them, and they say "Well why don't you have it fixed?!", not realizing you've been trying everything under the sun to do just that!

Sorry, I think I vented a little too much, but...argh! Darn corns!

Edited March 15, 2011 by greytchloe

[rascalsmom]

Someone had mentioned Zithromax (Z-Pack) had worked. I think that may be the antibiotic that was referred to earlier.

 

Jack has three corns, too. I, too, have tried everything I can think of--bee propolis, bag balm [he just licks it off], the 'special corn cream' from Pittsburgh, duct tape, hulling....the duct tape seems to change the texture of the corn, so it's easier to get layers of it off. I have not tried Abreva or any antibiotics.

 

Corns really do 'suck a$$' as sweetdogs pointed out. It is SOOOO frustrating not to be able to help your dog!

[Fiona3]

Zeke had corns appear on his rear left foot two years ago in June. That first year we softened the pad with Protecta-Pad and used Abreva. Eventually our vet hulled the corn twice over a period of time. He had a brief respite for a couple of months only. In Feb. 2010, they reappeared and this time he had them on both rear feet. We started treating him with Murray Ave. Corn Medication and had really good results. When there was a regrowth the corns seemed to be smaller and closer to the surface. I was able to lift them off easily after softening the surface with Protecta-Pad. The time between growth has extended as well. Since last fall he has only had one corn which I was able to again remove myself.

 

Do you have a TheraPaws boot? It did help tremendously to have this cushioned boot on his foot for walking.

 

Corns are frustrating to treat. I wish you success with Momo's treatment.

[TheFullHouse]

Good thoughts for MoMo. My poor Andy had his until the day he passed away. I tried everything also.

[LBass]

Anyway, good thoughts for MoMo - corn suck a$$!

Too true.

 

 

I do have a Therapaw for Mo and it does help when we're taking walks--she lived in the Therapaw at Sandy Paws. I don't like to leave it on her all the time however, and the poor girl even hops and limps in the house. Kitchen and bathroom floors are hard enough to bother her and sometimes even the carpeted surfaces.

 

I'm going to set up the crate to get ready for leach walking and head out to lay in supplies of bandaging supplies. The vet mentioned daily dressing changes at a minimum and I want to be scrupulously careful with her post surgery care to give her the best chance of recovery.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the corn journey.

 

--Lucy

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

Oh Lucy, good luck -- I'll be thinking of MoMo (and you) on Thursday! Give that girl a big smooch for me (give Piper and my buddy Spirit one too!!). Will hope hard that this time will do it!!!!

[greymatters]

Someone had mentioned Zithromax (Z-Pack) had worked. I think that may be the antibiotic that was referred to earlier.

Yes, I believe this is the antibiotic that's been tried - the generic name is azithromycin. I'm pretty sure I read about it here in another corn thread several months back.

 

As someone said upthread, it's thought that corns may be viral so it's hard to know how an antibiotic would help, BUT - this particular antibiotic has shown some efficacy in treating canine oral papillomas ("puppy warts", see linky), which are definitely viral in origin. One possible explanation for its efficacy against COPV is that there's also an underlying bacterial component that either contributes to the lesion itself or prevents the immune system from fighting the virus.

 

The down-side to azithromycin is that apparently it's really expensive .

 

ETA that I'm sorry your girl is suffering from this blasted thing - hope the procedure is a huge success and that she feels better soon!

Edited March 15, 2011 by greygeek

[Guest BlueCrab]

We're one of the ones who have had the really good luck with duct tape, after trying pretty much everything else short of surgery. But the duct tape does take a good month of commitment to every 2-3 day tape changes. When Trixie was really bad we used Therapaws on her walks and they made a huge difference. And now that we've discovered that she has them (they seemed to appear out of nowhere last summer), they definitely do return with speed.

 

As far as contagious, I don't believe so.

 

Sorry MoMo's got to go in for surgery. We'll keep all paws crossed for a speedy recovery!

[Guest greytchloe]

Greygeek,

Thanks for the very good explanation!

The antibiotic is expensive, but if you have AAA and go to CVS, they give a significant discount. I don't recall exactly, but it went from being ~$80 to closer to $40 with the discount. I wish I had known sooner...

[MerlinsMum]

Poor MoMo. I am definitely keeping MoMo in my thoughts and will have just about everything crossed for her on Thursday! :goodluck :goodluck

 

And this is for you, Lucy: Try not to worry too much on Thursday (says the worry-wart... )

[4My2Greys]

Lucy, I just want to say that I hope MoMo's surgery and corn removal goes as well as Nadir's did. I had the corn that was giving him so much trouble surgically removed March of last year and after healing it has not given him a bit of trouble since then. He is like a brand new dog, aside from another recent toe injury (not corn) on another foot, he has been walking and running well on all surfaces. I know every dog is different, but for him there has been no reoccurances of corns.

To aid healing and to prevent possible infection I would like to make the recommendation of 15+ Manuka honey applied to the sterile pad that is applied to her toe. Dermasciences has dressings that are impregnated with the honey under the name Medihoney, which you can get through Amazon, but they are fairly expensive.

A box of (10) 2x2 pads is $50 + shipping. A jar of 15+ Manuka honey would be much cheaper and it is good to have around for other things.

[Guest Shermanator]

He confirmed my observation that the corn now occupies at least 2/3 of the pad on the affected toe. We talked about options for our next step...try another more drastic corn removal or amputate the toe. I told Dr. McCravy what Dr. Radcliff had said about corns at Sandy Paws--that his best results with corns has been to remove them but that it requires going deep down almost to the toe tendon--and that is what we decided to try. Neither of us wants to amputate the toe unless there is no other option because it is a weight bearing toe and, if Mo is prone to corns I don't want to start removing toes she may really need if her future is corny (sorry, I couldn't resist ).

 

Anyhow, he is concerned that it may be difficult to successfully close the tissue of the pad with stitches after the removal of the corn because of the sheer size of this blasted corn and the nature of paw pad tissue (not as stretchy as other tissue). He is still confident that her pad will heal even if the stitches fail us and that is should not cause the pain and limping that the corn does. Obviously, we'll do our best with the surgery and nursing to keep the stitches in place. I'm wondering if I may need to crate Mo when I'm at work so that I can leash walk her for potty trips rather than let her use the dog door.

 

 

My bridge boy Patton had a corn, that was awful. We first tried to have it surgically removed by cutting deep into the pad to try to remove it all. The vet, (who is VERY grey-savvy) removed a large amount of the pad. Ugh, we were miserable. He lost a lot of his toe pad, so the toe was now crooked, since he had to sew up the pad, which disfigured the toe. The recovery was LONG and painful. It may have been maybe 6 weeks until Patton was back to normal. AND the thing came back.

We amputated the toe, and it was the best thing we did for him. Easy surgery - far less number of stitches thank cutting into the pad. He amputated it high up at the knuckle, so it was not as painful to walk on after the surgery. Less recovery time, the bandages were off in 10 days, and healed fast, unlike the wound on his toe from cutting out the corn. In about a week, Patton was back up and running. No problems and his gait actually changed, now that the corn was gone. He was able to walk without pain, and actually straightened him out, since he walked pretty crooked before. If we had more corns appear (which we did not,) I'd amputate again.

 

The cutting into the pad was horrible for us. The amputation worked much better- no more corn, and no more problems. He was not affected by the loss of the toe.

[LBass]

4My2Greys, thank you for the information about Manuka honey. I'll be sure to get some since I think that the nursing care after Mo's surgery is going to be critical to her recovering well.

 

Thank you all for the reports of good results and for sharing and venting about the PITA that is greyhound corns.

 

 

I'm anxious to have this surgery safely behind her and I'm not looking forward to having to give breakfast to the other hounds tomorrow and not feed MoMo. The stink eye and the hurt looks will be an unpleasant way to start the day. I hope they are the worst part of the day for her and for me as well.

 

 

Shermanator, I so appreciate your cautionary tale about poor Patton's experience. I've really struggled about this decision and I'll be kicking myself if we end up having to amputate the toe in the end. Sometimes it is so hard to know what the best decision is going to be.

 

--Lucy

Edited March 16, 2011 by LBass

[rascalsmom]

FWIW, our vet--who is very grey-savvy--has suggested surgically removed Jack's most painful corn. She said that then, if the corn comes back, we could amputate the toe. So the surgery would be the first step, and amputation the final resort. My issue is that I have heard of dogs having toes amputated due to corns, only to have a corn pop up on an adjoining toe. Then what?? You can't continue to amputate toes. Jack already has three corns.

 

For us, I have elected to not do the surgery, at least not yet. Jack mostly stays off the hard surfaces (kitchen floor, etc). He is on generic rimadyl twice daily and that seems to help. I do use the duct tape regimen, too.

[Guest SoulsMom]

Keeping MoMo in our thoughts here in New England

[Guest Shermanator]

Shermanator, I so appreciate your cautionary tale about poor Patton's experience. I've really struggled about this decision and I'll be kicking myself if we end up having to

 

No problem, I struggled with the decision as well. And, I kicked myself too about trying to cut it out first, only to amputate later.

But, if every faced with this decision again, one problem corn, I think we may amputate first. I know, drastic, but Patton never had a problem, again.

 

ALSO!

We ended up purchasing 4 therapaws for Patton. We were so freaked out, that it was suggested to us to use them on outside walks, first to protect his toesies, but also, to give him cushioning while he walked. One train of thought I have heard was they develop from the bone hitting the padding of the toe? Anywhoo, Patton used them, and used them for the rest of his life.

[Guest bigbrindlebunny]

[greysmom]

Thinking good thoughts for Momo tomorrow!

 

I always am interested in these corn threads. I had never even heard of dogs having corns until coming on GT. I've asked around here at events and things, and no one (at least in our group that I've asked) has ever had a greyhound have a corn. I keep wondering if they are at least partly environmental since we really don't seem to have them here??????? Even the dogs that have come from other parts of the country (of my 5 two were not bred in the NW/Oregon) don't seem to develope them.

[4My2Greys]

Lucy I wanted to let you know that I leash walked Nadir for about 7 weeks following his surgery to make sure the pad was healed good and closed. The time wasn't such a big deal to me though as I had already been leash walking him for all his potty breaks for the previous 2-1/2 years up to that surgery. He did have a pretty rough time walking after surgery. He had a harder time getting around afterthat surgery than when he broke the toe on his front foot 3 mos earlier. I really think it was worth it though in the end.

I'll be thinking of MoMo tomorrow morning and sending lots of white light for a safe and successful surgery and recovery and an end to that horrible corn. Nadir says he hates corny toads.