Sarcoids - looking for opinions/views please!

S

Scot123

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 November 2011
Messages
367
Visit site
Hi. Really interested in hearing from anyone whose horse has had sarcoids or who just knows a lot about them! Basically I need opinions...

My pony had a sarcoid on her shoulder treated with Liverpool Cream a couple of months ago. I was told there was no alternative but to treat it one way or the other as the type it was and its position would mean it would spread. All going to plan at present, it's crusted over and we'll see when it comes off.

Unfortunately there's another on her ear that appeared at about the same time. Was advised at that time that the cream won't work on the ear and to maybe "leave it and see".

Anyway, now another one's come up on her other ear :(. The vets at Liverpool now recommend laser treatment on the ears to try and stop further spread.

My thoughts - do I put the (headshy & timid) little pony through that? Would it be kinder to leave things alone and 1) hope they don't spread more and 2) just let her enjoy life until such time as they do spread OR is that not fair, should I go ahead with surgery and give her the best chance (if that's what it is).

So sorry this is long. I am thoroughly confused and would so like to hear opinions. Thank you.
 
Do the surgery and do it soon .
Fatty has had several lots of laser treatment .
It's not nice for them but they come through it ok they get pain relief and it's will be done under very very heavy sedation and one way to look at it is she headshy already so she be headshy after .
You will however have to put barrier creams on the wounds to protect your other horses so that's a consideration however if you do it now it will be all healed by the time the flys are back .
 
One of mine has had sarcoids....one was treated with cryotherapy and liverpool cream (on his sheath) and the others were treated with Liverpool cream and then lasered (they came back). The laser treatment was brutal, and his whole face became infected, and all the hair fell out and I wished I hadn't had it done, but eventually it cleared up and they haven't returned....(it was about 12 months ago now).

Given the decision again, I would probably have the laser treatment again....I would just insist on stronger antibiotics once I could see there was a problem, and not be made to feel that I was making the infection up!!
 
My boy had sarcoids varicose and nodular on his sheath, between his back legs and belly. He was treated with liverpool cream however only a couple came off, i was not best pleased with the amount it cost. I looked into re treating after summer. However in the mean time i put him on global herbs Restore liquid, after a bottle (following instructions) i noticed a change, i gave him another bottle and they started popping out. Restore is a liver detox so does no harm to your horse. I was very pleased so kept him on it, all the nodular ones went, leaving one very stubborn varicose one, a friends niece is a equine vet and suggested using colgate duraphat 5000 prescription toothpaste as she has used it on the flat ones and it came with good results, some of the ingredients are in liverpool cream. I got hold of it and tried, i put it on every day, after a month it had nearly gone. It did look sore at times, so i then put it on every other day and the sarcoid scabbed over and dropped off. He is now sarcoid free and i am very pleased.
I am not telling you how to deal with yours but that is my story. :)
A friend also used thuja tablets and cream and that also got rid of her horses nodular ones, might be worth a try.

I would personally try something and if it doesn't work get the money together for other treatments. Good luck :)
 
Hi. I've had horses with sarcoids in the past (about 10yrs ago) and would say to treat sooner rather than later. OP's comment is a really valid one regarding flies in the summer. My horses' sarcoids were surgically removed, some grew back, some didn't- perhaps laser treatment wasn't an option back then or perhaps these examples weren't suitable candidates for laser treatment? It sounds less invasive though and I'd have thought a quicker/ tidier recovery as no stitches and possibly less scarring?
 
Hi - thank you. I think one thing putting me off is that the sarcoids are obviously spreading already. So if i have these 2 removed, quite likely there will be 2 more to replace them relatively quickly. So will she then have to go and have those removed, and then the next 2 etc etc. Or is that not nexessarily the case (I know they can be really unpredictable).

True about the headshy! But from where we are it's also a long journey to where the treatment could take place, all unknown to her and that also makes me wary...
 
Might trying a cream first be an option - can you apply this to your headshy patient? Before surgery we tried a cream (called Camrosa I think?). I didn't work for my horse- it was administered in 2 stages: the first white cream as a cleaner and then the second which looked like Vaseline which formed the top layer. They seemed to keep the area very moist- so maybe the types that encourage drying up and shrinking might work better? I've also known people to tie them off with rubber bands, although never done this myself- presumably not great as may fall into the ear canal depending on size/ whether you could get near enough?!

A vet once advised me not to buy a horse which had a small sarcoid at the time- she said they nearly always came back in her experience. Probably not what you ideally want to hear, but sounds like a case of managing current sarcoids as well as possible until their return is too prolific to make treatment realistic?

Good luck with whatever you decide :)
 
Last edited:
Thank you. I think I probably was digging for moral support as much as anything - so really thank you :) I'll keep reading up on it all/questioning my vet and hoping the horrible things might magically disappear in the meantime. x
 
Please do not use Camrosa, it promotes cell growth so can make sarcoids worse. They took their claims of curing sarcoids off the packaging a few
years ago.
 
We had a nodular sarcoid removed from our mare with laser surgery only a small scar and not come back. Had to go to another vet though as ours would not remove without GA which I would not consider. The professor who removed the sarcoid came highly recommended depending on your area.
 
I have no experience of the Liverpool cream or lasering/surgical removal, however I did successfully treat 3 sarcoids on my gelding's sheath using essential oil therapy (EOT). It wasn't an overnight thing (took about 12 months) and required adherence to the instructions and accurate monitoring of reactions to individual oils (appropriate oil based topical treatments were also provided) but it was successful and not at all invasive or painful for the horse. When using this kind of more natural treatment option, it is important that the management routine addresses the horse's natural requirements as much as possible, e.g. the usual things like sufficient amounts of turnout, access to equine companions, sensible feeding regime, as low stress an environment as possible.

I am not at all advocating going against veterinary advice, rather just suggesting one option that worked very successfully for my horse. Liverpool university's own information on treatment options is here: http://www.liv.ac.uk/sarcoids/ Qualifed EOT therapists can be found here: http://www.geota.co.uk/essential/essential.html. Good luck all the very best for dealing with the sarcoids.
 
Continued thanks to all! It's hard - I, like so many people, are looking for answers and definites when I realise there aren't any. But I keep hoping there will be a magic answer!

I certainly wouldn't go against anyone's opinion about going 'natural' with therapies but I just sort of feel if I'm going to try any treatment for cancer it should be a scientific one with some sort of proven results - but i know that's just an opinion...
 
Hello, I am currently in an on going battle with the dreaded sarcoids myself. Just thought I'd share my thoughts :)

When I first got my boy he had two sarcoids about the size of a 50p on the fold of skin where his belly meets his hind legs, so one on each side. They were quite flaky and didn't change for about 3 months so I decided to leave them be.
Then in summer one of them came up pretty bad which I think was to do with the flies irritating them so I looked for a solution. I decided to try the Crest toothpaste option which id seen people praising on a few forums so I decided for the sake of 99p it was worth a try.
For a good month or so the cream seems to shrink the sarcoid size to half but they still looked quite sore and he was getting a little tricky to hold when applying the cream so I decided to stop. It just wasn't worth the stress!! After I stopped with the toothpaste I just applied antibacterial gel over the sarcoids to act as a barrier over the summer


2 months ago I started using bloodroot cream prescribed by the vet and it has done more than the toothpaste ever did but again is becoming handful with applying as it makes the areas very sore!

Both sarcoids have dropped off but healed over still leaving a protrusion and lump...but it's something. Right now I've just finished the second tub of Newmarket bloodroot cream but have decided yet again to not continue as it's stressing my pony out too much I think.

I've just heard about the thuja approach and hope to try this with the 200c tablets as I think due to their location on him it's too dangerous and stressful to apply cream. I don't want to keep jabbing him where it's sore :(

Will keep informed about how the thuja tablets go and hopefully I'll get a better result!
 
My horse had sarcoids lasered, on his sheath area he had more but they couldn't do all if them at once.
The treatment area was sore for a couple if weeks but soon cleared up , the sarcoids have not returned and those left have dropped off.
 
I bought a nice mare in the summer for a bargain price. She had 5 sarcoids, which had all been treated with Liverpool cream. They all dropped off but I have since found another one which I will have done. A word of caution though, she had one on her ear, smaller than the tip of a little finger. Well, I'm not sure what happened but the cream must have smeared and killed off approximately a third of her ear. It doesn't bother her but it's a real shame when laser would have simply removed the sarcoid.
 
I would be reluctant to use the cream on an already headshy horse. I have seen it used on one and the horse ended up being destroyed as unhandable after.
 
I feel for you - this is very difficult but not without the possibility of success. One of my mares had a sarcoid just below her ear and our vet did not recommend using Liverpool cream as this is was a very sensitive area with nerves etc. He injected it with a chemo drug and it worked wonders. You wouldn't know it was ever there.

I personally would avoid surgery unless there is no other option. She has another on her thigh but it causes no issues so we have just left it alone. I have tried to improve her immune system generally which I am sure has helped.
 
Hi all, My Name is Hayley Rich; I am a 4th year BSc Veterinary Nurse. I am inviting you to participate in a research study titled “Owner Perception in the Topical Treatment of Sarcoids: Liverpool Creams Versus Toothpaste”. This study is being conducted as part of the final year of a BSc in Veterinary Nursing at The Royal Veterinary College.

In this study, you will be asked to complete an online survey consisting of 3 questions about your horse/pony, 3 questions of diagnosis and placement of the sarcoid(s) and 8-13 questions on treatment options and your opinion on them. The questions are a mixture of yes/no or circle most appropriate.

Your participation in this study is voluntary and you are free to withdraw your participation from this study at any time. The survey should take only 5-10 minutes to complete. There is also a chance to win a £50 Voucher for Robinsons Equestrian by taking part if an email address is provided at the end of the survey.

This survey has been approved by the ethical committee at the Royal Veterinary College. There are no risks associated with participating in this study. The survey collects no identifying information of any respondent. All of the response in the survey will be recorded anonymously. All data collected will be stored according to the Data Protection Act.

While you will not experience any immediate direct benefits from participation, information collected in this study may benefit horses in the future by improving the understanding how effective toothpaste is as a sarcoid treatment and may lead to further study and the potential for new treatments.

If you have any questions regarding the survey or this research project in general, please contact Hayley Rich at hrich@rvc.ac.uk.

By completing and submitting this survey, you are indicating your consent to participate in the study. Your participation is appreciated.

Hayley Rich
4th Year Bsc Veterinary Nurse
The Royal Veterinary College
Hawkshead Lane
Hatfield
AL9 7TA

Please click on the survey link below and provide us with your feedback.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FS69NZG

This invitation does not imply any endorsement of the survey research and/or its findings. The survey contents and findings are the sole responsibility of the individual conducting the survey
 
I've recently joined the Turmeric User Group on FB and there are a lot of posts about sarcoids - seemingly getting smaller/falling off! I've no experience of a horse with sarcoids but here is the page if you wish to take a look.
People seem to be feeding the Turmeric and also making a 'paste' to put directly onto the sarcoid.
When you join the group go to the 'files' tab and there is a sarcoid + melanoma section.

Hope this helps :-)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/415313751866609/?fref=ts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top