Nosebleeds / Cyst in Sinus

[misstipsy]

Hi, I have an 8 year old, 16.2hh gelding who suffered from a nosebleed for the first time on august 6th.
He was bleeding when I went to him in the morning, it was a reasonable amount and he was leaving puddles on the floor. I got him in to have a closer look, he was OK in himself and ate his feed. I turned him back out and checked him at 11am, it had slowed down but not stopped. I had to go away for the afternoon but my friend checked him at tea time. He was still trickling but by Thursday am it was clear.
I was concerned but not overly as we have a mare who has nosebleeds although hers only last about 5 minutes, I thought I would rest and monitor him and see how it went.
There was nothing until 14th August, again I went to him in the field and he was bleeding this time more than last. I knew the vet was going to be on the yard later that day so I phoned and booked an appointment. It continued to bleed on and off all day . The vet looked at him and recommended he went for an Endoscope and possibly head x-rays. He went the next morning (15/08) at 9am. He was scoped, it didn't reveal much but did rule out any infection in the guttural pouch so he had x-rays. The x-ray showed up what the vet thinks is a cyst in his sinus and a collection of blood too. If you look and feel his face there does appear to be a lump where the cyst is. They have recommended surgery and he is booked in for the 28th August.
I am obviously concerned about the surgery but he bled pretty much constantly from Thurs am to Fri pm, luckily since Friday pm he hasn't bled again. I have visions of it staying constant till the 28th.
I just wondered if anyone else had had any similar experiences.
Thanks

 

[Louisex]

well a friend of mine had a horse who had nose bleeds and it was because she was unfit and also it was somthing to do with high blood presure.. might be worth getting in cheecked out thou.
hope that helps x

 

[misstipsy]

Thanks for that, we have a mare on the yard who is a high blower and she has had a few nosebleeds in the past similar to your friends horse but they only lasted about 5 minutes. On the x-ray there is something there, you can see it.

 

[Happy Horse]

It sounds like it may be an ethmoid haematoma. I have seen a number of these operated on and the outcome is generally very good. If it is one of these and small, getting it out is the best thing as they can grow very big and if they rupture the blood loss can be huge.

 

[CrazyMare]

I've helped look after a horse after a similar op. If its the same op, he had a hole in his face that had to be packed while it was healing, but his bleeds stopped after he had the op.

 

[GreedyGuts]

If it is an ethmoid haematoma then ask about having it injected with formaldehyde rather than surgery, as it's much less invasive. They can occur in the sinuses as well as on the ethmoids.

 

[misstipsy]

Hi, the surgeon has looked at the x-rays and isn't convinced that it is a cyst. He is going in on Thursday for further investigation to determine what it is exactly. I will keep you updated.