Corns On All Four Feet Have Crippled Mable

[Guest Frannie]

I talked to Jake about hulling. He is such a knowledgeable vet, and so willing to try new things, that I am going to stick with what he said, which was this (I took notes):

 

Hulling (which he's well-acquainted with) and surgery are actually similar. When he removed one of Mable's worst corns two years ago, he did it with a punch biopsy. The difference between those two procedures is that a dental elevator is not very sharp, and of course doesn't go as deep. But the action - the scooping out - is pretty much the same.

 

He is perfectly willing to do a combination of hulling and filing, but he's not comfortable with doing extensive hulling on a dog as sensitive as Mable with this many large corns. He feels that the recovery afterward would be much too painful for her (and for me.)

 

He knows Mable well, and I think is taking a "Whole Dog" approach here - she is petrified of doctors, easily traumatized, and very fragile overall. I WISH we could just go in and hull every last one of these #@%& things (and then burn them!), but it sounds like his wisdom is dictating against that. This does worry me; I like everyone's advice here, and I hope desperately that his care and wonderful bedside manner, which even around Boston is second to none, will help us regain some quality of life.

 

I brought my inflatable mattress downstairs last night. We are camped out so that she doesn't have to choose between hobbling up to my bedroom or being alone.

 

Am I crazy, or would anyone be totally heartbroken about all this?

[rascalsmom]

No, you are not crazy. I am really upset about Jack's corn situation too. It is so difficult to see them in pain with every step. I keep thinking, they can put a man in orbit for months on end, but they can't figure out how to get rid of these *$^%^*!@# corns. SOOO frustrating.

 

When Jack has had his hulled, there is a bit of discomfort during the process but not what appears to be extreme pain by any stretch of the imagination; and like batmom says, most dogs get at least temporary relief. Have you considered a pain reliever? It doesn't eliminate the pain entirely, but it lessens it.

 

As for the duct tape, yes you will have to make it a bit larger than the corn initially. Jack had two corns that were very large, and stuck up, and I just made the duct tape bigger, and tried to seal it down good around the edges. Like putting a bandaid on your fingertip--you have to get it down around the sides of the finger, and sort of 'gather' the edge. He did end up getting those ones hulled a few times, and now they are smaller, and the duct tape fits over them FLAT. They no longer protrude so much.

[Guest Frannie]

Hi Rascalsmom,

 

About Pain relievers: Yup, She's on tramadol. 50 mg. every 12 hours. Wonder if that's making a dent in anything.

[rascalsmom]

My vet thinks Deramaxx or Rimadyl work better. I had asked her about tramadol, since I had some at home. Deramaxx is ultra-expensive, so Jack is on generic Rimadyl (carprofen). He takes 75 mg. twice daily (he weighs 85 pounds). Maybe ask the vet about trying that or the Deramaxx.

Edited March 22, 2011 by rascalsmom

[sweetdogs]

I don't remember if you've mentioned it, but have you had xrays of the leg she won't put weight on? I'm not sure corns would wake a dog up & cause them to wander & not want to settle.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I've heard people refer to tramadol as more of a sedative than a pain reliever. I've been giving it to Sam for back pain (50 mg, two to three times daily), and it hasn't had much effect as sedative OR pain reliever. But there's a caution about giving larger doses as some dogs become anxious and panting on it. Sometimes, people think the pain relieving part isn't working, bump up the dose, and the dog gets worse because the drug is triggering anxiety.

 

I don't think corns are particularly painful when the dog is off her feet, so if Mable is panting or stressed when she's been lying down for a while, consider whether she's reacting to pain or to the drug.

[DaisyDoodle]

Hi Donna (and everyone),

 

So here's a few questions.

 

Emla/numbing cream:

I use lidocaine patches myself for chronic pain. The prescription says not to use them on inflamed or broken skin. Wouldn't the same risk apply for dogs' pads?

 

Duct tape/Dr. Scholl's:

I tried duct tape last night; I also tried Dr. Scholl's corn pads (just the pads, not the medicated discs.) Both fell right off of her foot. With the tape, the problem seems to be that the corns are so raised up and so big that there is very little healthy tissue to grab onto--in other words, you would have to smother the healthy tissue as well as the corn. With the Dr. Scholl's, the adhesive was completely useless. I kept thinking that there was another layer where the real adhesive was, and I just wasn't figuring out how to get at it.)

 

Abreva:

Would it be safe to use this before a filing or hulling? does it eat the skin away?

 

Hulling myself/hulling by Jake:

I think I'm probably not the one to take a sharpish instrument, even a fingernail, to my girl's feet until I've had lots and lots of hands-on instruction and supervision. I'm ultra-squeamish about anything that hurts, and my hands tend to shake when I'm doing close work. I do want to watch what Jake does, though. if we go for hulling, and it definitely sounds like I need to discuss this with Jake (I know he's familiar with it from previous visits to my house to look at her feet), should I try to soften her feet in preparation?

 

The corns come back with either procedure, right? Do they come back sooner with filing than they do with hulling?

 

SOO MANY QUESTIONS for my poor hurting girl!!!

 

Tough day. When I took her out at midday, she cried out when she put weight on her right front foot. that just does me in.

My contact in the pharmaceutical industry did confirm what I thought, that a dog's foot pad has very low permeability (the drug won't go through easily). However, a lidoderm patch on broken skin would saturate the underlying tissue much more easily. The reason the label says don't use on broken skin is because they don't test it on broken skin. Also, there's enough lidocaine in a lidoderm patch to mess up your heartbeat if you absorb a lot.

 

So, I would check with your vet about applying Emla after removing the corn. Since you can put just a dab of Emla cream on, you might be able to use a small enough dose not to cause a problem, but I'd check with Jake.

 

Ditto on the Abreva, I don't know how it works.

 

You might want to consider some sort of mild sedative (Benedryl or even Bach Rescue Remedy) before doing the corns. If you do the soak then pick at one for just a few minutes, it might be a start. You don't want to even remove one the first time you do it. Just do a little bit at a time. Jake might be able to do more, but the most important thing for you at this point is to try. You can't keep going to the regular vet for these, and I don't know if it's financially feasible to have Jake come by regularly. You'll surprise yourself and be so pleased when you do get one to come out. Ask Jake to do the bad ones and supervise you on one of the minor ones.

 

Good Luck!

[Batmom]

I would find a different vet. Hulling and surgery are nothing alike. There is virtually no blood when hulling, and no cutting, as you will see if you read the linked article.

 

 

ETA: I don't mean to diss your vet, but if someone thinks that hulling is a type of surgery, they are not talking about the hulling procedure in the linked article. In the hulling procedure as linked, the root elevator is used simply because it has a thin enough blade to get under the edge of the corn where it separates from the pad. The pad is not cut.

 

There may -- or may not -- be a very thin attachment stalk at the bottom of the corn. This may or may not need to be snipped to free the corn. The largest stalk we had was @ the diameter of a thin sewing needle. The amount of blood that came from snipping it was less than when I poke my own finger with a needle.

 

The dog is not sore after hulling, and that is why I (and probably some others) keep encouraging you to try it. It is an amazing thing to see a sore, limping dog suddenly walk! as if nothing hurts! And that usually occurs immediately after the corns are hulled. There is no bruising, no bleeding involved in this process. Thus, no reason not to do it for a dog in pain.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Batmom

[Guest sage7]

My corn dog has corns on two feet but has had them on as many as three. This has been going on for 5+ years. I have been unable to cure them but I have been able to maintain them in a manner that has given him a good quality of life. I use duct tape. when I remove the tape, I hull the corn with my finger nail if I can. I then dremel the outside ring that is left behind so that it is even with the rest of the pad and then re-apply the duct tape. I've tried the Murray Ave cream but I found the process to be cumbersome and after three weeks, I stopped the soaks so I'm not sure if it works or not. My guy does wear Therapaws on walks and does fine.

 

I feel for you and your girl. It's so hard to watch them limp around. I hope you find some relief for her.

 

I have an 11yr old rescue grey who has battled with corns for 3 years, they have been hulled but came back with such a vengeance she had to have a toe amputated. She then developed a corn on her other foot due to weight transference and this caused a huge problem.

I run a sighthound forum in england and one of the members who comes from ireland is a professional homeopath and she researched and worked on a remedy to help my girls with her corns.

She sent me a small phial of oil with the remedy in (i think the base oil is neem & tea tree & lavender but it is the remedies within that are important. This was to be used as 3 or 4 drops on the corn 3 times daily and gently massaged in. Also she sent 2 oral remedies. one to be taken once daily for 4 days then once a week for 4 weeks and the other once a week for 4 weeks.

For 2 weeks I saw no difference and I felt very disappointed, especially as this wonderful homeopath had done wonders with emotional issues one of my hounds had.

part way into the third week I suddenly realised the corn had gone. there was no hole, it hadn't 'fallen out', it had just gone. I am amazed and over the moon that 3 years of veterinary treatment couldn't cure but less than 3 weeks of Lori's homeopathic treatment and she is corn free.

If anyone wishes to email me at

pauline@presley.eclipse.co.uk

I will gladly give you her email address so you may contact her yourself.

Good luck to everyone who has hounds with corns. I don't think it's possible to realise how much pain a corn can give until you have a very distressed hound trying desperately to walk with corns.