Melanomas

[Cornish]

Has anyone had melanomas surgically excised? I have an 8yo IDx mare who has just had around 6 diagnosed with a recommendation of removal. Bit worried about the size of wounds and aftercare re infection - they are in and under tail and around anus, and she is a messy mare. Thanks for any feedback, other therapies have been discussed with vet but aren't feasible in this case for various reasons. Many thanks.

 

[racebuddy]

hi yes i have , my horse has had numerous surgeries done under tail , internal rectal ones , mouth , girth and tail and sheath , will pm you

 

[Cornish]

Thanks so much

 

[jcsoda]

Has anyone had melanomas surgically excised? I have an 8yo IDx mare who has just had around 6 diagnosed with a recommendation of removal. Bit worried about the size of wounds and aftercare re infection - they are in and under tail and around anus, and she is a messy mare. Thanks for any feedback, other therapies have been discussed with vet but aren't feasible in this case for various reasons. Many thanks.

Has anyone had melanomas surgically excised? I have an 8yo IDx mare who has just had around 6 diagnosed with a recommendation of removal. Bit worried about the size of wounds and aftercare re infection - they are in and under tail and around anus, and she is a messy mare. Thanks for any feedback, other therapies have been discussed with vet but aren't feasible in this case for various reasons. Many thanks.

Yes, my 10 year old cremello Connie has had lots removed varying from tiny small dots to 5 pence size. Oly one returned and this has been removed again, over a year ago and it has not returned. My vet advised removal while they are small - most people leave too long. Mine also has one in his right eye but it doesn't seem to be growing at the moment.

 

[Cornish]

Yes, my 10 year old cremello Connie has had lots removed varying from tiny small dots to 5 pence size.

thank you - good news that they didn't come back. Was this done at your yard or in hospital and what was the wound management like?

 

[Sasana Skye]

My mare had them surgically removed and lasered years ago from around the anus and under the tail. She went into hospital to have it done under sedation, she had to stand in what I can only really describe as a cattle crate type thing. It was successful and she came home the same day onto a few days box rest. The next day her stable looked like a crime scene there was blood just EVERYWHERE so I panicked and called the vet back out who came to check it but seemed happy.

The melanomas came back bigger within a couple of years so I felt bad for putting her through all of that and I wouldn't do it again unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Gloi]

Yes, my 10 year old cremello Connie has had lots removed varying from tiny small dots to 5 pence size. .

Out of interest was your Connie cremello + grey? My friend had one that was and she got a lot of melanomas at a very young age.

 

[jcsoda]

thank you - good news that they didn't come back. Was this done at your yard or in hospital and what was the wound management like?

They were removed under sedation and with local anaesthetic. The biggest was on the inside of his thigh and a similar one on the side of his muzzle area - both needed a few stitches. The small ones around anus and under tail were removed using a small instrument, a bit like the tool you can make holes in a lawn to plant bulbs in - which just left small holes. All healed really well. Pony is just cremello - pink skin, blue eyes. He looks white at this time of the year but has very pale chestnut flecks in his summer coat. Good luck with yours.

 

[electric_circus]

My grey has several small melanomas under his tail and around his anus and the dentist found a small one inside his mouth on his most recent visit last year. They don't seem to bother him. Vet advice was to leave well alone, unless they began growing aggressively or otherwise begin to bother him, as removal can apparently aggravate them in some cases and make the problem worse than the initial issue. But he was quite a bit older than your mare when they first appeared in his late teens, and is currently in his mid 20s, so pretty typical for an older grey given that I believe 99% of greys are supposed to have them, whether visible externally or not, by their mid teens!

 

[Cornish]

Thank you so much everyone - you've been really helpful. Vet says 80% of benign melanomas will turn malignant or metastasize if left, so seeing that she's so young still I feel she has to have the procedure. They are still mostly very small, the two largest are in these photos - excuse the pooey bum! There is another tiny one just visible in the first photo, and then some more (3?) really mini ones in the junction between tail and anus, but you have to feel them rather than see them really. Such a crying shame and I'm sure there will be more in other areas as time goes by, but I guess that's the gamble with a grey Mortified to be putting my girl through such discomfort, but I think it is probably the right thing to try to limit damage. PS she is shockingly dirty, one of my concerns about keeping the wounds clean, but I promise she'd had a full tail shampoo and nether regions spruce up 3 days before this photo!