Melanoma - operate or leave?

[RHM]

Hi guys, looking to hear about any experiences of having melanomas treated or left well alone. My lovely mare has two underneath her tail and speaking with the vet he thinks we should take them off before they become malignant. She is grey and 11 years old, I don’t know how long she has had them for or if they had grown as only bought her 3 months ago (was picked up at vetting but that vet wasn’t remotely concerned by them!). My vet thinks we should take them off under standing sedation, has anyone had this done? All experiences welcome however gory! Thanks!

 

[Bernster]

No haven’t had surgery as my boy‘scare on his head so vet says can’t operate. They do operate on areas like around the tail and it does help some. But from what I’ve read of others, they often come back quickly. I recently joined a Facebook group - equine melanoma awareness group you could try posting on there too.

 

[Micky]

Our old boy had them on his tail underneath when we bought him at 16yrs old, consulted the vet who said leave well alone, he must have had them for years, he carried on until mid twenties, and he passed from a bad leg injury..

 

[RHM]

Thanks for your thoughts guys! I will have a look on that facebook group too! I always thought you should leave benign tumours alone as you risk turning them malignant but my vet thinks you should just routinely remove them. Lots of thinking to do!

 

[m1stify]

Bought my horse at 13 and vet said to leave her melanomas alone (also under tail) they haven’t changed much in 10 years slightly bigger but never burst or anything.

 

[RHM]

Bought my horse at 13 and vet said to leave her melanomas alone (also under tail) they haven’t changed much in 10 years slightly bigger but never burst or anything.

Ok that’s reassuring, I think that is the vets concern is they get larger and burst. We are such a long way from that though as they are currently the size of a small pea.

 

[Bernster]

Just to add, my boy started with some under his tail too this year. I’m keeping an eye on them but atm vet hasn't advised to remove them. Some seem to grow very fast and cause issues but others don’t so it’s a bit pot luck. It’s no fun having a horse with them though but you just have to do your best and keep them as comfortable as you can. There are some treatments available again dep on the location.

 

[m1stify]

Ok that’s reassuring, I think that is the vets concern is they get larger and burst. We are such a long way from that though as they are currently the size of a small pea.

They were bigger than a pea when I bought her so maybe that’s why my vet wanted to leave alone. If they are that small maybe it is worth considering. It’s a gamble either way I guess! Best of luck

 

[tda]

X

 

[Dun Mare]

Just had the vet out for this today.

Apparently advice until more recently was to leave them alone and keep an eye until they affected daily life but now they are more keen to remove surgically before they become a problem. Our 16yr old mare developed one about the size of pea under her dock about 1.5 years ago, we kept an eye but in the last year it has grown quite a bit (doubled at least) and signs of others starting to develop.
It was meant to be removed much earlier this year but due to covid and other issues procedure was delayed. Vet removed as much as she could of the large one but unfortunately discovered she wasn't able to remove it all...at this stage it is now only a case of debulking it. In a few months will be attempting to remove the others.
There is also an option of inserting cisplatin beads which are a kind of chemo which I will be looking at for the others.

Mare is currently completely unaffected by them but I took the view that they might develop into a problem or they might not - but that I'd rather try and prevent this by removing them when it was still possible. Gutted to say I think I was still too late.

Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and more may develop at later stages but if I could remove it earlier when it was smaller then personally I definitely would.
All done under standing sedation, didn't take long and should hopefully be healed in a few weeks and back to (what passes for) work.

 

[RHM]

Just had the vet out for this today.

Apparently advice until more recently was to leave them alone and keep an eye until they affected daily life but now they are more keen to remove surgically before they become a problem. Our 16yr old mare developed one about the size of pea under her dock about 1.5 years ago, we kept an eye but in the last year it has grown quite a bit (doubled at least) and signs of others starting to develop.
It was meant to be removed much earlier this year but due to covid and other issues procedure was delayed. Vet removed as much as she could of the large one but unfortunately discovered she wasn't able to remove it all...at this stage it is now only a case of debulking it. In a few months will be attempting to remove the others.
There is also an option of inserting cisplatin beads which are a kind of chemo which I will be looking at for the others.

Mare is currently completely unaffected by them but I took the view that they might develop into a problem or they might not - but that I'd rather try and prevent this by removing them when it was still possible. Gutted to say I think I was still too late.

Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing and more may develop at later stages but if I could remove it earlier when it was smaller then personally I definitely would.
All done under standing sedation, didn't take long and should hopefully be healed in a few weeks and back to (what passes for) work.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! Just the advice I need! I will ring the vets tomorrow! X

 

[Dun Mare]

No problem at all - was looking through other threads for similar stories as still gutted she couldn't remove it completely when I saw this was a very recent one and thought I'd add my experience. Good luck with whatever you decide on x

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I would not have them removed. My wee grey Shetland had them under his tail when I got him at 11yo, no idea when he got them before that. They hadn't changed at all in the slightest when I had him PTS earlier this year - completely unrelated reason - at 30yo.

My Gray tb has them and I am not touching his either.

 

[RHM]

I would not have them removed. My wee grey Shetland had them under his tail when I got him at 11yo, no idea when he got them before that. They hadn't changed at all in the slightest when I had him PTS earlier this year - completely unrelated reason - at 30yo.

My Gray tb has them and I am not touching his either.

That’s interesting! It seems like such a luck of the draw if they grow or not. Does anyone know the genetics behind it?