Iridium wires for sarcoids

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Rachael Dinsdale

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My horse Dudley has peri ocular sarcoids under his eye, I am waiting for him to go to Leahurst to have iridium wires inserted into the tumours I have been told the recovery will take between 7 and 10 mths. Has anyone had a horse who has had this treatment. In order to prepare myself I was wondering how bad it will look initially, what after care is needed, the timescales for recovery and how much time off was needed.
Thanks in anticipation of any information
 
i had a horse which had wires through a sarcoid many years ago. looked horrible but the end result was fantastic! mine stayed at liverpool for about 5 weeks whilst the wires were in place, then we had her home. had to clean out the gunk twice a day but she was very well in herself though came back a bit poor. She was able to be ridden but in a headcollar as bridle was too close to part of the site. was very expensive (many years ago) so would hate to think what it costs now. but the end result was brill. good luck
 
I know that similar treatment is undertaken for some human cancers so it's not new. My only concern would be the cost because the treatment relies on the radioactivity of the wires. Not only will that mean £££££, but as the horse would be radioactive until the wire was either removed (few weeks) or the iridium had lost its radioactivity (half life of about 3,000,000 years lol), he would have to stay in isolation at the hospital with strict nursing/livery protocols to protect the staff. More £££££! Having said all that, an aggressive sarcoid very close to an eye probably has few, if any, alternatives. Good luck and hope things go well x
 
My friends horse had wires inserted into a large sarcoid in his eye and it all worked well. They managed to use "second-hand" wires to help her with the cost a bit. Be warned though, your horse could very well come home with thrush as a result of the treatment. No-one is allowed to touch the horse or go within several feet of it for at least a week due to the radio-activity - they have automatic waterers and hay is just thrown over the door - no mucking out at all, hence the thrush. A small price to pay though really.
 
I am aware the treatment is very expensive but luckily I am insured and don't have any other option. Was wondering if anyone knew what his face and eye are going to look like after treatment so I can prepare myself, how did the wounds heal where the wires are inserted , how bad was the swelling and how long did it last, do they need painkillers etc etc, they have warned me it could be between 7 and 10 mths but I can't get my head round that.
 
I would check that your insurance is enough. I heard 2nd hand of someone who had it done & I heard the cost was well over £10k - though that could be chinese whispers!.
 
One of our horses had this treatment. It worked very well. There was a large ammount of swelling from the wound and then followed by a large ammount of discharge. For about 3 months, it was not pretty at all. I mean, she was in work, but it was ugly! Then, almost overnight the swelling and discharge disappeared! 9 months later, she has white scarring around the eye (she had 3 taken off) and you can tell that there was an injury, but it really does look good. I suspect that in the long term the scarring will subside further and it shall look rather neat! I think that there will always be a scar, and if your horse is a show horse, then I really would not think it will be show-able for a while if ever, but for other disciplines (ours events) the cosmetic side of things should be okay. Obvioustly, each will heal and scar differently, but I hope our experience helps. It is excelent treatmment
 
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