sheath infections / melamomas

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racebuddy

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feeling at a loss what to do really , my horse has had numerous surgeries to remove melanomas in horses sheath , hes got them on sides of sheath wall in the folds if that makes sense actual sheath ok , however we are limited to further surgery as not that much tissue left there so we just have to manage him as best we can , hes had recent infection were puss built uo in his sheath so vets advised salt water washes / flamazine then went onto isaderm to help with infection ,

hes not had any cream for a week as advised by vets but now the puss is starting to build up again around the melamomas , jsut wandering if anybody has experience of this ? or every used the sheath broth from newmarket ?


thankas
 
i am so sorry to read about the problems you have. i do have experience of the broth treatment.

My fabulous vet used the broth on my old boy this summer. Old boy is 26 and cushinoid. He had an incident of maggots really early on (May). This was the second 'Maggot Gate' incident as he had one last year too but much later in the year. I was totally horrified that my care had been so bad. I was told it is just bad luck and an old man problem, but I still felt awful and was convinced I had let my treasured old horse down.

The horse had become increasingly gunky and smelly. I had been cleaning as sparingly as possible and had used KY jelly thinking that it would be safe for a horse if it is safe for human use. Whilst I saw improvement the issue did not go away and then we had the maggots again. He was sedated and cleaned with warm water and nothing else. A broth was explained to me and duly arrived a few days later. In the 5 days prior to the broth he had karidox. The broth came in a half litre bottle, was bright pink and looked like mouth wash.

The first application was done under sedation to ensure total coverage. He is very good to handle as he was a stallion in a previous ownership and isn't at all bothered with being messed with. Five subsequent applications were done, 3 without sedation. The broth was a success, I also managed him more carefully. He had a fly rug with long dense fringing sewn along all edges to prevent fly strike. He had power phaser applied daily to belly, thighs etc but not within touching distance should he hang free and loose ! we didn't want fly spray being drawn into the sheath.

We continued all through summer without further issues so the broth was very much a success. I have had to wash him 3 times from September to date with just warm water and he remains, fingers crossed, ok.

I would ask your vets about the broth, but be open minded about success with your horse being more compromised than mine was. Good luck and very best wishes.
 
My experience isn't quite as bad as yours but my old boy is riddled with melanomas in his sheath. He won't let me touch him in the man parts so every 3 months I knock him out and give everything a good clean. They don't seem to bother him at all so we've decided to leave them until they become an issue - we made that choice at 12 and he's now 23. They're considerably bigger but done cause any problems as such - he has one in his tail that ruptures frequently but the ones in his sheath don't seem to - touch wood.

His are too big to be removed as he wouldn't have enough skin left to sew everything up. His only option would be a resection (removing the sheath and penis and replumbing everything so he'd end up weeing out the back like a mare) which he's obviously too old for now, I wouldn't put him under a GA at his age. I do know a horse who has had it done though (he didn't have melanomas, he had a carcinoma on his penis so slightly different as melanomas will probably be elsewhere too) and he recovered remarkably quickly from it and hasn't had any issues since. I'd ask your vet if that's an option.
 
hi thanks for your replies , hes had a lot of surgery done but as not actively casuing pain and not much skin there were are reluctant to put him under a ga again also , we nearly lost him a year ago with severe irriatable bowel and bleeding into his abdomen so we have to be very casutious re what surgery we do as he reacts badly to sedation and certain drugs , he is currently feeling very well and having good winter competition season , vets feel like if we can manage it it is far better than putting him under ga to which he was not good waking up from , and not much skin there also which is a factor to consider also , vets due back out again in a week to check other melamomas and see how sheath is doing unless any major cocnenrs before then . xxx
 
Ah yes I can understand not wanting a GA under those circumstances. Had A's melanomas caused a problem that meant they needed removing when he was younger I'd have done it but I won't put him through a GA at 23 even if the vets would consider it. Hope the broth works as well as it did for AA's boy.
 
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