Leg Muscle Swollen From Sprain/strain Vs Possibility Of Osteosarcoma..

[Guest ryjenkin]

Will, our almost 5 year old greyhound, has gotten himself an injury that has us a little worried. I'm looking for some opinions on the situation.

 

It started 3 weeks ago, when our two boys came inside after playing in the backyard as usual. A few hours later, we noticed Will limping and not putting any pressure on his back right leg. We looked at the joint and it was pretty swollen. We're not sure what happened, whether he banged it on something while running, but the swelling went from nothing to swollen in just a couple hours. The bump was somewhat soft to the touch.

 

Here's the first day of the injury:

 

And his other leg for comparison:

 

We took him to the vet to get an x-ray and he was prescribed rimadyl, tramadol, and augmentin. We were so relieved to see the x-ray and hear the vet said it looked like it was soft tissue only, nothing wrong with the bone. Here's the x-ray, sorry it's not perfect quality:

 

What makes us to still be concerned is, now three weeks later, the swelling has gone down but there is still a bump, and it's no longer soft, it's actually quite solid. Here's today's leg:

 

He still favors his other hind leg to walk on, but he is no longer lifting the injured leg in the air at all times. He has started to use his injured leg much more, while standing, walking, even running in the yard (although it's more of a bunny hop with both back legs when he picks up a little speed).

 

We're worried of the potential of osteosarcoma because the duration of the injury and the hardness of the bump. We also are wondering if we should go back to the vet, get another x-ray, and potentially get more medicine. Or maybe take him to a different vet to get a second pair of eyes on the x-ray...

 

Based of of these pictures and my description, should I be worried? What are my next steps? Or is this typical for a standard sprain/strain in that area of his leg and the speed of his improvement is typical?

 

Thank you for any advice or opinions on our boy.

[robinw]

Take him back to the vet. I had the same thing happen with my Treasure a few years ago. After being told that it was a soft tissue injury, somebody suggested that I take her in for another set of X-rays, as sometimes the pain appears before the tumour could be detected. Sure enough, it was osteo. There was about a month between visits. If for no other reason, it will put your mind at ease.

 

Keep us posted, ok?

Edited January 22, 2015 by robinw

[a_daerr]

Yeah, that doesn't look right to me. The x-ray looks clean, though. If it were a tumor that big, you'd expect to see something on the x-ray.

Maybe it's an abscess/infection in the joint capsule?

[GeorgeofNE]

I had a friend who took her hound in THREE TIMES before they actually found the cancer.

[cometdust1]

I had a friend who took her hound in THREE TIMES before they actually found the cancer.

Me too! 3 different vets!

[greysmom]

Time for a re-check. But it *could* be a soft tissue injury - lots of times a bad contusion will sort of solidify and turn into a firm lump or bump before it slowly dissolves. My boy had one on his side that we were sure was going to be something bad. That was about 4 months ago and it's nearly gone now. It's taken a while though.

[NeedlenoseJake]

Just to keep your spirits up... our Jake has a scar tissue bump on his leg that will never go away. We've had it biopsied and there was no sign of cancer. It is a probable track injury to his tendon and when he injured it again the scar tissue area grew. Pretty scary but now he's fine and we just try to let him heal between runs.

[galgrey]

I know you are worried. I'm sending lots of positive energy and good thoughts. Keep us posted.

[Charlies_Dad]

Another set of films is in order. Hope it's nothing serious.

[tbhounds]

That's not a typical OSA site. Doesn't hurt to re radiograph that limb but, I would lean towards a soft tissue injury esp because it's been over 3 weeks since the initial trauma and he's improving not declining.

[Guest ryjenkin]

Update!

 

Had a follow up x-ray this evening and got good and bad news. The good news, it doesn't appear to be any kind of sarcoma! The bad news is... this time a fracture showed up. It was more apparent this time because of a slight shift in the bone, forming a visible ridge now. Here's the x-ray:

 

 

So, now to begin the process of healing this fracture! Now that I know what we are dealing with I can begin researching some posts on these forums. The vet didn't want to splint or cast it because of greyhound's skin tending to form lesions and ulcers. He recommended as much restriction as possible to let the leg rest, along with daily Rimadyl, with a follow up in 4 weeks to see how the bone is healing. He basically said have him use the leg as little as possible, so that means taking him out for bathroom breaks on a leash, carrying him up and down stairs, and possibly crating him as needed when we're not around to watch him.

 

Thank you all for your ideas and support. Anything I should watch out for with the fracture? Tips on adequately restricting his movement?

 

Thanks again, everyone!

Edited January 24, 2015 by ryjenkin

[robinw]

That is great news! A fracture will heal

Edited January 24, 2015 by robinw

[tbhounds]

Wonderful news! Leash walking, rest and perhaps some busy toys for your hound to ward off the boredom of rehab :-). I'm happy for you!

Btw--just as an FYI for everyone--this is why you should always take two different views. Often one view alone won't reveal any abnormalities but, you will on the second view. Disclaimer--sometimes depending on your patient it's not always possible though :-). Agree Ducky??

Edited January 24, 2015 by tbhounds