Sheath Infection - possible surgery??

[Cloud9]

Hi - am hoping someone might be me some advice.

Arrived at yard on Easter Monday and horse was holding near hind off floor - immediately assumed lame however on investigation his sheath was absolutely huge, rock hard and boiling hot. Called emergency vet who came out and sedated him for a thorough check. His willy was clean and no "bean". But he had a very large lump and the swelling was going into his hind leg. He injectected him with various things and prescribed x2 bute a day and antibiotics for a week.

He came back out last wednesday and the sheath swelling was right down and back to normal however he still had the lump however this was much reduced (from mango to egg!!). He said had he not been gelded he almost certainly would have questioned whether he had been gelded properly. He scanned him (good boy stood like a statue with no fuss). He said the lump is fluid filled and tracks back along a tube. He prescribed a further course of antibiotics (baytril) and is coming back on Monday.

However he said the prognosis is that this is a long job and is not going to just go away with this course of action (almost certainly come back whether it be in 6 months of 6 years) and that an operation is the most likely outcome which will obviously need to be done in the next 12 months so I can claim. Full anaesthetic at the surgery.

Anyone experience this sort of thing. Tonight the swelling is still there however again a little more reduced. The thought of surgery scares me to death.

 

[applecart14]

Hi - am hoping someone might be me some advice.

Arrived at yard on Easter Monday and horse was holding near hind off floor - immediately assumed lame however on investigation his sheath was absolutely huge, rock hard and boiling hot. Called emergency vet who came out and sedated him for a thorough check. His willy was clean and no "bean". But he had a very large lump and the swelling was going into his hind leg. He injectected him with various things and prescribed x2 bute a day and antibiotics for a week.

He came back out last wednesday and the sheath swelling was right down and back to normal however he still had the lump however this was much reduced (from mango to egg!!). He said had he not been gelded he almost certainly would have questioned whether he had been gelded properly. He scanned him (good boy stood like a statue with no fuss). He said the lump is fluid filled and tracks back along a tube. He prescribed a further course of antibiotics (baytril) and is coming back on Monday.

However he said the prognosis is that this is a long job and is not going to just go away with this course of action (almost certainly come back whether it be in 6 months of 6 years) and that an operation is the most likely outcome which will obviously need to be done in the next 12 months so I can claim. Full anaesthetic at the surgery.

Anyone experience this sort of thing. Tonight the swelling is still there however again a little more reduced. The thought of surgery scares me to death.

A friend's gelding had a similar problem with a sheath infection and its taken him many months to sort out, with the horse having received antibiotics and him having to wash inside the sheath twice a day and apply a cream. The main problem with his horse was it was so itchy which caused him to kick at his sheath which inflamed it further, and then it itched more, and it was a vicious circle which couldn't be broken easily. He doesn't seem to have had much trouble with it lately so i am assuming he has sorted it out now but as I say its taken a long time. Last I heard he was applying vagisil (a cream for applying to women's bits to stop itching) and I think this worked quite well.

 

[Cloud9]

Thank you for replying - as yet I do no have to apply anything - he has to stay out 24/7 and gentle exercise, cold hose etc. He does not seem itchy however since this all started I did find quite bad fly bites in the groin area of the near hind however the get thinks that is just coincidence and so unrelated.

Frogot to say when he does come back on Monday he is going to scan again and measure lump and also possibly sedate again and take a sample from it!! He said it is unlikely to be a tumor or anything related to heart etc (sometime heart problems can cause sheath swelling) as it has responded to antibiotics quite well so far.

Should I just let him operate now rather than later or leave it and see whether it comes back.

 

[vroutledge]

just out of curiosity is your horse grey?

 

[Cloud9]

Piebald - gypsy cob 13 years old 15hh

 

[vroutledge]

i just wondered because my old pony from when i was a teenager had a similar thing happen i went to fetch him in one night and he didnt come to the gate like he would normally and when i walked down the field i found his sheath was huge!! the vet came out gave him antibiotics and something to reduce swelling, he did some blood tests and i later found out he had cancer and that it was very common in grey horses....not all bad though eventually the swelling went and he carried on as normal and still did his job......and lived to a ripe old age without any treatment seen as he was 18 at the time anyway.

 

[Cloud9]

i just wondered because my old pony from when i was a teenager had a similar thing happen i went to fetch him in one night and he didnt come to the gate like he would normally and when i walked down the field i found his sheath was huge!! the vet came out gave him antibiotics and something to reduce swelling, he did some blood tests and i later found out he had cancer and that it was very common in grey horses....not all bad though eventually the swelling went and he carried on as normal and still did his job......and lived to a ripe old age without any treatment seen as he was 18 at the time anyway.

Does sound similar - I am hoping my boy has that sort of outcome!! Mine looks so well in every other way at the moment - just moved yard too so typical that as everything going so well and am loving my new yard that something has had to bring back down to earth with a bump!

 

[applecart14]

Should I just let him operate now rather than later or leave it and see whether it comes back.

I'd be advised by your vet as, alas, I am not one (not clever enough at school)

If it were my horse I would want to avoid surgery at all costs and treat in other ways, but that is not always easy or sucessful, especially if you have the itch, kick, swelling problem,

See what he/she says and go from there. x

 

[JanetGeorge]

I would want to know the PURPOSE of the surgery. It sounds like acute inflammation - for reasons unknown - and adding surgical intervention to an inflammatory condition does not seem like necessarily the best option to ME!

It's certainly not something my very good vet has suggested in relation to my 5 year old stallion who has had a similar problem.

Prince came up with HUGE sheath swelling - hot and hard - overnight. He had antibiotics/anti-inflammatories - it was scanned. That was last October!! It is considerably reduced now but still not normal - better on one side than the other but fluctuates in hardness and extent of the swelling. We tried not working him - just turning out all day - made no difference so he is back in work.

The thing my vet has stressed is that this is a VERY bad area for dispersing fluid - we have to massage him at least 4 times a day (when visitors are not looking!) really digging thumbs into the swelling and moving it around. This is working - slowly! THANKFULLY he is an incredibly good natured young stallion and doesn't object (I think he enjoys it!) i don't even put a headcollar on him to do it!