Melanoma removal on eye

Asha

Asha

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Just thought I’d post some photos for anyone else who may have a similar issue .
Our legend that is Finn seemed to have a swollen eye last weekend . Vet came out and when he pressed the eyelid there was a melanoma . It was rubbing against his eye which is what caused the issue .
So took him in Wednesday and they removed it . It was the size of a blueberry . Which sounds small , but considering it was under his eyelid , is actually on the larger side .

Fairly straight forward procedure , and at the moment is recovering well . He’s not too impressed at box rest mind . Other than that all good .
1st photo before ( from the weekend when swollen ) and second after the procedure

So if you have a similar issue , don’t worry . It’s not too bad to sort out
 

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That looks very neat. My old boy was riddled but we were very lucky that they didn't grow in problematic areas. He made it to 30 before old age got him, he definitely died with melanomas rather than because of them. In my experience, the melanomas themselves are rarely a problem, it's their location that causes the issues so early removal if they're in a tricky place is always best before they grow and create even more of a problem.
 
Flowerofthefen said:
Could he wear a fly mask to keep his face clean?
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Not answering for the OP, but I have a mud monster who loves to roll in his fly mask in the summer, and he can push the through the mesh very effectively.

Also, many fly masks are stiff, to stand them off the face, but that would make them abrasive to delicate stitching.
 
Flowerofthefen said:
Could he wear a fly mask to keep his face clean?
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Unfortunately not . He’s not allowed to have anything rub against his eye .
The first couple of hours after he came home and the meds wore off he rubbed his eye against his knee . Blood all over his face and knee . Even coming out of his nostril . He looked like he had been battered ! Got some Bute in him and he stopped rubbing, such a relief. otherwise vet had suggested tieing him up .
Cragrat said:
Not answering for the OP, but I have a mud monster who loves to roll in his fly mask in the summer, and he can push the through the mesh very effectively.

Also, many fly masks are stiff, to stand them off the face, but that would make them abrasive to delicate stitching.
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Exactly this .

It won’t be long before he’s allowed turnout as he’s healing well . He’s being hand grazed and walked out for now
 
I had one who had an eye operation. The vet said box rest for her, but I knew that she would not tolerate it. I did a mooch and a munch at each end of the day. Lunge cavesson so it was pinned back well away from her eye by the back straps. Took her into the arena where there were 2 munch (hay) stations. We would mooch to one, have a munch, mooch to the next have a munch etc.

She would get half an hour in the morning and an hour at night, which also gave Mr Red or I (whoever was not mooching and munching) time to straighten the bed and any resultant dust to settle. It meant that she didn't get stupid and gave her eye the best chance.

She had a cancer on her lower lid but it also went right down into the tear duct, some of which was removed. She also had a tube going through her eyelid into the eye, so we could flush it comprehensively. The tube was taken over her head and plaited into her mane. So, a sore and vulnerable wound.
 
Asha said:
Just thought I’d post some photos for anyone else who may have a similar issue .
Our legend that is Finn seemed to have a swollen eye last weekend . Vet came out and when he pressed the eyelid there was a melanoma . It was rubbing against his eye which is what caused the issue .
So took him in Wednesday and they removed it . It was the size of a blueberry . Which sounds small , but considering it was under his eyelid , is actually on the larger side .

Fairly straight forward procedure , and at the moment is recovering well . He’s not too impressed at box rest mind . Other than that all good .
1st photo before ( from the weekend when swollen ) and second after the procedure

So if you have a similar issue , don’t worry . It’s not too bad to sort out
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Glad to hear your melanomas op went ok - we had similar last year so know how stressful it can feel but actually it was all really straightforward. I used the Harrison Howard mask and it was excellent. However I would also err on the side of caution and keep in as mud could be an issue. Our ponies eye had a tiny melanoma for years which suddenly grew very quickly - they are horrible but often can be removed easily as they usually are self contained.

Hope your pony continues to recover well - I was so surprised how quickly it healed!
 

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mustardsmum said:
Glad to hear your melanomas op went ok - we had similar last year so know how stressful it can feel but actually it was all really straightforward. I used the Harrison Howard mask and it was excellent. However I would also err on the side of caution and keep in as mud could be an issue. Our ponies eye had a tiny melanoma for years which suddenly grew very quickly - they are horrible but often can be removed easily as they usually are self contained.

Hope your pony continues to recover well - I was so surprised how quickly it healed!
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Wow , that’s an amazing result . So glad it went well for you too .
 
Red-1 said:
I had one who had an eye operation. The vet said box rest for her, but I knew that she would not tolerate it. I did a mooch and a munch at each end of the day. Lunge cavesson so it was pinned back well away from her eye by the back straps. Took her into the arena where there were 2 munch (hay) stations. We would mooch to one, have a munch, mooch to the next have a munch etc.

She would get half an hour in the morning and an hour at night, which also gave Mr Red or I (whoever was not mooching and munching) time to straighten the bed and any resultant dust to settle. It meant that she didn't get stupid and gave her eye the best chance.

She had a cancer on her lower lid but it also went right down into the tear duct, some of which was removed. She also had a tube going through her eyelid into the eye, so we could flush it comprehensively. The tube was taken over her head and plaited into her mane. So, a sore and vulnerable wound.
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That’s pretty much what we’ve done today . He’s had an hour out this morning , whilst being watched in case he rolled . Which to be fair he was way too interested in the grass. Then came back in , then while I was pottering around the yard back out again for an hour this afternoon . He’s in our foal field . It’s left all year for either foals first outing or any that need a small field for rehab etc . So there’s no mud at all .
The cancer in the tear duct sound awful, did they have to have the tube for long ?
 
Asha said:
That’s pretty much what we’ve done today . He’s had an hour out this morning , whilst being watched in case he rolled . Which to be fair he was way too interested in the grass. Then came back in , then while I was pottering around the yard back out again for an hour this afternoon . He’s in our foal field . It’s left all year for either foals first outing or any that need a small field for rehab etc . So there’s no mud at all .
The cancer in the tear duct sound awful, did they have to have the tube for long ?
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I didn't turn out as I didn't trust her not to roll or be a pratt. It was all very calm and controlled in-hand.

I can't remember how long the tube was in for. I would guess a week or 10 days.
 
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