Fluid Build-up Over Joint

[Bucephalus]

Bo had surgery for elbow dysplasia back in December. Around the six week check-up point, the vet noted some fluid over his right elbow. We kept an eye on it, and it seemed to go away.

A couple weeks ago, Bo had a slide down a river bank after a case of the zoomies. We think he hurt his elbow, which caused fluid to return over the joint, more fluid this time. We went to the vet to have his elbow checked out because it was noticeably bigger than his left one. He just did 5 days of Rimadyl and rest (although it's been difficult keeping him calm because he feels SO GOOD on meds...), but the fluid is still over his joint.

We're going for a re-check at the vet on Saturday morning, but I wanted to ask those who've dealt with this issue before what they might recommend. The vet previously said she'd want to shave the area and drain it if it hasn't decreased in size or has gotten worse. Should we have it drained after just 1.5 weeks of keeping an eye on it, or should we request to wait longer to see if it goes down on it's own? What has your experience been if your Newf has had fluid build-up over joints? Does the draining help or should we just let his body recover on it's own?

 

[lmfoltyn]

I'm interested in responses to this as well. Jake has had his hygroma (?) for months now. The vet really didn't want to drain it as infections can set in fast. It hasn't stopped him or caused any pain that we have seen. How long do you wait before doing surgery on something like this?

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

I can't speak to joint fluid in dogs, but I had this problem from a knee injury. It took a while to completely resolve itself, but it did without having to be drained. The doctor recommended rest, anti-inflammatories, ice, and a light wrap. The ice & wrapping help to reduce the inflammation.

If the doctor suspects an infection, or if there is too much fluid that is causing significant pain then I'd get it drained. I don't think it would hurt.

 

[NewfieMama]

Zuzu had fluid in her right knee drained and biopsied (came back normal thank goodness). The reason was that she had several issues causing her problems and the surgeon was trying to narrow down what the most exacerbating factor was. They drew fluid, injected cortisone in the knee. She was like a new dog about 2 days later.

 

[Lori]

I think the fluid build up over the joint and a hygroma are two different things. Sydney has had a hygroma for a long time. Once or twice it swelled up and was infected. A course of antibiotics took care of it. Usually it's not a bother to her, it just looks ugly. I have some Manuka honey that I was putting on it and then would slide an old sock over it. It was helping, I just didn't keep up with it enough.

 

[chumleysma]

What about laser therapy to speed the healing? If your vet should drain the fluid, you could ask her if it would help to have a fluid analysis done which includes WBC, RBC, total protein, and a cytology to see what other cells may be in there. The fluid could also be cultured to check for bacteria and ID it plus a sensitivity to antibiotics should any grow.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

Is it a seroma? Mila had one on her knee after her TPLO and after a bit of a tumble during recovery. It didn't have to be drained...just took a couple of weeks for it the resorb back into her body or whatever. Hopefully that's all you'll need in this case...time

 

[Bucephalus]

Thanks for all the suggestions! He goes in tomorrow morning. If they do decide to drain it, I might request a cortizone shot as Mary suggested. Will let you know what ends up happening. He's limping worse today than the last couple days, and it doesn't look like the Rimadyl helped the fluid to go down much..

 

[Pam G]

Awww....poor guy. ;( Our Cash has elbow displasia in both elbows. His elbows were very swollen with fluid when he was younger. I asked about draining it, but my vet said sometimes bacteria can get in the joint when they do this..so we opted to leave it.I was afraid of causing more problems . The previcox did wonders for the pain, but not so much with the swelling. He still has very large elbows at age 3 1/2 but I think it's a combination of arthritis now and some fluid . He has very poor range of motion but doesn't seem to be in much pain and hasn't needed the previcox since he was about 18 mths...unless he is going on an outing or when we are in Vermont. He doesn't limp, maybe because it is both sides..but has a funy gait when running..kind of a hoping motion. We just recently did the series of adaquan shots so I think that has also helped with his range of motion. You may want to ask your vet about that. Good luck with your appt and keep us posted.

 

[takemebacktotulsa]

Sorry to hear he's having a rough time. Hopefully the vet can bring him some relief today.

 

[Bucephalus]

Pam, when did you start the adequan injections? Was Cash a bit older? Our vet discussed these, but said we should wait a few more years. Is previcox an anti-inflammatory? Thanks for the advice!

We saw the vet this morning, and she thinks the fluid has gone down a very little bit. She's putting Bo on a two week course of rimadyl to see if that helps, and we discussed a swimming-exclusive exercise regimen to hopefully keep some weight off Bo's joints but keep his muscle-mass up. We did x-rays and he has some pretty bad arthritis showing up on his right elbow that might lead to mice in his joint, which is really sad because we just had his elbows cleaned and surgery done on the bone for elbow dysplasia just 6 months ago! And already he might need more surgery to remove mice in a couple months (which we would probably opt not to do since they'll keep reoccurring anyway).

We also found an engourged tick on him earlier in the week, so she's putting him on doxycycline just to be safe in case of infection that might be causing joint pain (i.e. Lyme disease).

Poor little boy! His elbows had been doing pretty well up until about a month ago, then they seemed to be weak on numerous occasions. Hopefully we can get him back to full functioning so he can be a happy guy again.

Thanks to all of you for the support and suggestions. Several of the things I read on this thread and others I mentioned during the appointment.

 

[hemingway]

MORE MICE?!?! Ugh. I'm sorry. I'm hoping and praying that won't happen. You know Hemi has the progressed arthritis in the right elbow too. They are brothers from other mothers, I swear.

Pulling for you guys. Hoping Bo catches a break soon. fingers crossed.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Hey Karen...did she do a snap test for the Lymes?? Has he been on doxy before?

 

[Bucephalus]

Hey Karen...did she do a snap test for the Lymes?? Has he been on doxy before?

We asked for a SNAP, but they didn't have them. They said they could do a titre (not sure how to spell it), but it would cost something like $180, and would need to be done twice. He hasn't been on doxycycline before, and we expressed concern for treating something with antibiotics that we're not even sure is there, but the vet said if it were her dog, she'd just do the antibiotics. She said it might cause an upset stomach...are there other major side effects I should worry about? :uhoh2: We haven't started giving him the pills yet...

 

[DAWNMERIE]

About a week into the doxy for Zeke, he started having issues....I could tell he wasn't right...I asked on here about stomach stuff and I ended up on Pro-Bios, which did help but honestly I didn't like him on it. How could she not have the test??? How does she test for heartworm? It's all one test out here??

 

[Bucephalus]

About a week into the doxy for Zeke, he started having issues....I could tell he wasn't right...I asked on here about stomach stuff and I ended up on Pro-Bios, which did help but honestly I didn't like him on it. How could she not have the test??? How does she test for heartworm? It's all one test out here??

Test for heartworm is also sent-out with bloodwork. She said since Lyme isn't really common out here, they don't have the SNAP test in-office. I suppose we can see how he does on the doxy and call the vet with concerns if Bo doesn't do well on it. I think she just wanted to treat him as an immediate protective action since he already has terrible joint problems, and the limping got significantly worse about 3 days after the tick bite and with no abnormal exercise, play, etc.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

How long of a treatment with doxy is she talking? Out here we stay on it over a month for it to be effective with Lymes and other related tick issues.

 

[Bucephalus]

How long of a treatment with doxy is she talking? Out here we stay on it over a month for it to be effective with Lymes and other related tick issues.

28 days. So about the same.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

hmmmm, I'd like to hear what others think. Maybe see if you can get something just incase his belly gives him a problem....it's a very strong antibiotic.

 

[R Taft]

It would be on the road for me to another vet......especially after finding the tick

Hope things go well for Bo, prayers from here ronnie