Experience with treatment of sarcoids

a kind of magic

a kind of magic

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My rising 7 Quarter Horse gelding has got a few sarcoids around his sheath, I bought him with them and they have never been touched so far. My vet came to have a look at them just before Christmas and suggested I do something naughty and insure him (I don't generally insure for vets bills as I keep a stash of money for if anything happens), then wait a month and claim on the insurance for the treatment. I phoned several insurance companies and the cheapest I could get the premium was £485 for the year and an excess of £300.

I spoke to the vet on Monday when she came back to administer his 2nd tetanus jab (his inoculations had lapsed so I was starting those up again), and told her how much the quote was, she was as shocked as me! He has one very large sarcoid (will take photos later) and a few smaller ones, her plan of action was to band the big bugger, then wait for it to fall off and then treat all of them (including the area where the big one was) with Liverpool cream. She quoted me £305 to treat him at the surgery with us boxing him there, and £485 to treat the sarcoids at home including the call outs.

I wanted to know if anyone had any photos of sarcoids during the Liverpool cream treatment? Or if anyone would be interested in seeing the process if I take photos of my boy? I don't relly know what to expect other than I was told he would be quite sore by the end of treatment. Help!
 
My vet first of all sent pics to Prof D Knottenbelt at Liverpool - what he doesn't know isn't worth knowing! He suggested suitable treatment for the sarcoids my mare had, including the strength and application plan for the liverpool cream. That doesn't cost anything - you just pay if you choose to buy the cream. Different looking sarcoids can need different stregths of cream and different application plans.

I would get some good pics (including size) of the sarcoids and get your vet to send them off. See what Liverpool say and take it from there. My mare in the end hasn't had liverpool cream as the sarcoid is too close to her eye. She had cisplatin (a chemotherepy drug) injected into it. I did claim on my ins, but as it happens the cost of the treatment was less than her insurance cost!

When you make a claim on your insurance your vet will have to sign off a summary of your horses relevant health history - including when the sarcoid was first noticed. If you choose to insure your horse to cover this then your vet will have to lie and sign to it - not many (of course!) would do that so if that is your only reason for insuring then do bear that in mind (as well as the obvious moral issue!).
 
I think what your vet is suggesting would be fraud I'm afraid. I know some people do it but it isn't something that I am comfortable with and I imagine you would end up with a multitude of problems with other insurers in the future if you wished to insure.

My boy has just had his last application of Liverpool Cream. His sarcoid is on the bottom of his ear. He had his first application last Tues, then Weds, Fri, Mon (of this week) and last application was on Wednesday.

His sarcoid has already started reacting to it - it has got a bit flatter but broader. Vet has warned me that it is going to get messy as it falls off etc. I've been told that depending on how aggressive it is it may warrant further treatment with the cream, or alternative, but normally it would fall off and begin to heal within a few months if straightforward.

That said, this is my first experience of a sarcoid so I'm learning as I go!
 
Hi!
I have had recent experience of removing four sarcoids from my mare. In total, I probably spend around £800 buying Liverpool cream and having it administered by the vet. I'm sorry I don't have any photos of the process but in total, although the treatment was quick, ie one application every two days for the first two treatments and then one every three days for a total of five applications, I didn't ride her as she was a little grumpy but after the last treatment rode her as usual.

The sarcoids she had were the flatter type so couldn't be banded. A large scab formed and then started to raise away from the skin on the edges until they eventually fell off. I did resist the temptation to pick the scab :) a little obsession of mine - gross I know. They fell off and she is left with a slight scar where each sarcoid was which is disappearing as time goes on.

I was very impressed with the treatment. Hope yours goes well too :) :)
 
Thank you for the replies so far.

I know my vet suggested the insurance claim but I decided not to go with it in the end, he still isn't not insured and I don't think I will bother, I am insured for 3rd party liability but our pot of money will go a long way on vets bills if needs be so sometimes it's not finanically sensible to insure them. Further along his training if he is successful on the western circuit and his value goes up I would definitely insure but for now he is my 'potter along' horse lol!

Fiorano - I am dreadful at picking scabs too but I will have to sit on my hands and leave well alone! :)

I will ask her about taking photographs and sending them to Liverpool, thanks for that tip.
 
i just wanted to share my experience with sarcoids. my mare had a very large one. it did not seem to cause any problems so left it for a while (vets reccomendations), however with the return of the flies etc it started to look nasty and grow. i did lots of research about it all and lots of people reccomended thuja.
i decided to try the cream and the pillules and the thing dropped off after a month or so... touchwood it has not returned yet.
i do no alot of people are iffy about this product and ofcourse every horse is different and so are the types of sarcoid. however it was successful for me.
 
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This is what happened following Liverpool treatment on a small sarcoid the size of a garden pea. This now will have to be removed under general anaesthetic paid for out of my own purse. I am not happy.
 
Have you considered removal by laser surgery? Cost wise probably not dissimilar and considered v effective. Obviously needs to be done at a centre of 'excellance' for this rather than any old vet practice but I have experienced this and touch wood, it was an easy and uncomplicated process with excellent healing and no return of sarcoid.

What persuaded me was that, on the sheath, there is a risk of the cream or topical application getting smeared onto the leg if the horse rolls, lies down etc. I don't know how likely this is but it seemed a bit of risk.
 
my horse had sarcoids inbetween her back legs which rubbed together and became very sore, the vet ringed a few but they always grew back, I have since sold her but I must ask the new owners how her treatment is going as I think they were going to try the liverpool cream.

When I had her though a few people suggested camrosa ointment?
 
We gave my boy thuja pills whilst waiting for the Liverpool cream to arrive by the time the cream arrived one sarcoid (he had two) had disappeared and the large one at the base of his ear was ready to drop off, the vet recommended using the cream as we had already paid for it, he was fine with the cream being applied it didnt seem to bother him at all.
 
I would definitely recommend trying the thuja in the first instance to be honest.

I have had a few with sarcoids over the years. Some of the youngsters have had warts that have appeared and then dropped off after a few months of their own accord despite the vets wanting to get in there and treat them.

The one that had bad sarcoids had already been treated with the Liverpool cream with his previous owner and he was left very scarred unfortunately. His did keep recurring but I used the thuja on him both times and they all dropped off. His owner now does the same and, touch wood, they seem to be getting less and less frequent.

I'd only use the Liverpool cream if absolutely necessary, not that I have anything against it but I do prefer to go in with the gentlest approach first if at all possible.
 
Another Thuja user here, discussed with my vet beforehand. The mare I used it on had a sarcoid on her stomach, two on her chest and a smaller one on her hip. They started to drop off and heal and have been gone for a few months now. None have reappeared yet so fingers crossed.

I would say get advice from your vet first though!
 
please DO NOT use camarosa or aloe vera on any type of sarcoid. both these products stimulate cell production. you do not want to increase sarcoid cells. liverpool cream works well on most sarcoids, just takes a bit of time. now is a good time to tackle them as no flies around (well i did see a few last week when warmer, but gone colder now so they have gone back into hiding). as for the insurance .. well it would be fraud as they are pre existing, and could put your vet in a bad place if he were ever found out. you can get good cover including vets fees if you insure horse for a minimal value (like 750/1000 pounds) Good luck with the sarcoid treatment.
 
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