Lipoma and PTS

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Silly Filly

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My boy had 3 lipomas in 2015. He had the surgery and made a great recovery. They removed 20ft of small intestine so he had 10ft left. He was roughly 16 years old.

Thursday (at roughly 19 years old) he had another lipoma and when they opened him up they said it had gone to his colon. Surgeon said it would be a complete rewire, if he could even get to the other side to do it and it would be a very very tough road for him. I asked his percentage and he said 20%. I decided to have him PTS. Was I right? All I can think now is what if he was in the 20%?
 
Absolutely you were right. Even with a much better prognosis I'd have PTS. Don't doubt your decision for another moment - you did what was best for the horse 100%.
 
Yes, you did the right thing by your horse. Horses are made to spend their time out at grass, eating, not spending months and months on box rest with a limited diet.
 
SpringArising said:
Absolutely you were right. Even with a much better prognosis I'd have PTS. Don't doubt your decision for another moment - you did what was best for the horse 100%.
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I agree, I suspect his odds will have been much reduced because of the previous surgery and I don't think 20% is good enough anyway when you consider what he would have had to go through after surgery, don't feel guilty for making the decision you did, remember the extra time you had with him and the good times rather than dwelling on what might have been.
 
Silly Filly said:
All I can think now is what if he was in the 20%?
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If he had been in the other 20% he would have had a year of pain, minor colic and quite possible major colic, because 20% was his chance of coming through the operation and coming home, not of living a good life or even a very long one.

Then if he had lived, he would have been with an impaired gut, with you struggling to keep weight on him and get the right vitamins and minerals into his system.

Quite possibly for him to get another lipoma in a year or two and die anyway.

You did the right thing. Absolutely no doubt.
 
100% you made the right decision. i think it was an incredibly responsible decision you made. We lost my husband's beloved mare to a suspected lipoma last year. I think ycbm's post says it all. So sorry for you having to go through this but you absolutely made the right call and please don't doubt yourself. xx
 
Gosh, at that age and with that history I wouldn't even have gone as far as a second surgery at all. Of course you did the right thing, you let him go easy. I'm sorry for your loss.
 
You definitely did the right thing. I had one with a lipoma which was going to be difficult to access and with the vets advice I opted for surgery. He survived the op but died a few days later with a gut infection where the wound had leaked. If I had to make the decision again I definitely wouldn't have put him through all the stress of hospitalisation and surgery.
 
You definitely did the right thing, but I know how difficult it is. It’s raw and fresh in your mind and I think this is when you really second guess yourself and your mind plays tricks on you almost. You would never have made the decision unless you were 100% so that should be of some comfort to you. As should the objective opinions on here. I went through (and am still going through) all of these emotions and second guesses after having some incredibly tough decisions to make last week.
 
be positive said:
I agree, I suspect his odds will have been much reduced because of the previous surgery and I don't think 20% is good enough anyway when you consider what he would have had to go through after surgery, don't feel guilty for making the decision you did, remember the extra time you had with him and the good times rather than dwelling on what might have been.
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I also agree with your decision. Never an easy one to make but I think you did the right thing.
 
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