Sinus Cyst Operation

[SpeedDemon]

My boy has been diagnosed with a cyst in his sinus and the vet has advised having it operated on. He would have to have a general anaestetic and have his face opened up and possibly his nasal passages drilled out. It was picked up on an x-ray of his jaw when having some dental work done and he doesn't have any problems at the moment. Has anyone got any experience of this? I'm not sure yet if the insurance will pay for it as he has had sinus problems in the past but if they don't is it better to get it done or wait until it starts causing a problem? Obviously I don't want him to be in any pain but having a GA is a risk in itself and there is the risk of further problems if he does have it done.

Any advice much appreciated!

 

[vicijp]

I dont have experience of the problem you have but plenty with sinuses in general. Its generally better to get them sorted if you can, a build up can cause a big 'headache'.
I have a horse with a missing bit of nasal passage, hole straight into the sinus. Not sure if he has had an op or not. He has a series of lumps beneath his eye (white hairs too), and had a tooth in the same area bashed horizontally into his mouth. The white hairs are on his passport so whether he was born deformed or had an accident as a foal I dont know.
The vet described a similar op to the one your horse is going to have, to see if there were any shards of teeth in the sinus, but seeing as it doesnt bother him except for a runny nose sometimes (clear) the jury is out for the moment.
Sometimes he makes a noise cantering, this is due to the air flow going round the hole in the nasal passage - have had his wind fully investigated otherwise and all 100%.
Have known horses have similar ops and they generally all get trained on Trimediazine/Ventipulmin afterwards. My vet did say it is a simple operation, so may not be that exoensive compared to some.

 

[AmyMay]

I'm sure that when the supervets programme was on they did a piece on a horse with a similar kind of problem.

The horse was operated on under local anaesthetic and heavy sedation.

Have you been referred to a hospital or had any kind of second opinion?

 

[ExRacers]

Been there and done that TWICE with my 22 yr old TB in 2004. He had horrible one sided discharge & first time they were able to remove the cyst under a standing sedation but second time (6 months later!!) it was much further up the sinus cavity so he had to have a GA. Recovered well on both occasions apart from an abscess developing on the side on his head the second time but once drained it was fine. Quite a common complication for this type of surgery apparently. He was home after a week both times and able to be turned out right away. Removed the staples in his face myself with the special tool they gave me and then started riding again after he'd been home a week as it's the best thing to encourage the sinus area to clear.

There were no marks or scars left on his face both times - great cosmetic surgeon!! - but he does have a slight indentation which appeared this year over the second surgery site which the vet says is as a result of the bone dying away after being drilled through. However it's not very noticeable and I still show him regularly. Due to his age neither of these ops were covered by his insurance, first one was £1,000 and the second was £1,500 due to the abscess complication and severe diarrhoea due to the antibiotics which all had to be sorted out before he could leave. Just got myself a year's interest free credit card and paid it off on that!! But he's worth it & we love him dearly & he owes me nothing.

Hope this helps - think you will have to go for it as leaving it can cause untold problems and make the original job a much bigger one in the end. Best of luck!

 

[SpeedDemon]

That's made it sound a bit more hopeful! Thanks! I was told it would definitely be a GA and I'd be referred to Rossdales in Newmarket to have it done. That's a lot less than I thought it would be though. Are you sure you didn't miss some zero's out!!!

He's an ex-racer who was a rescue case and has obviously had some kind of sinus surgery done in the past as he has the indentations and his bone flap has collapsed inwards again. I'm assuming they'll go back in through this as it is on that side. maybe they can do some cosmetic surgery at the same time and make him beautiful?!

 

[ExRacers]

Aahh poor boy! Mine's an ex racer too - as you probably guessed?! You'll be glad to hear I definitely didn't miss any zero's out!! Mine was done at the Edinburgh vet hospital & because he wasn't covered by his insurance they were able to give me a quote of the cost each time which was pretty accurate so no nasty surprises! A GA is always a worry but as my vet said the older horses are actually better at it than the younger ones as they tend not to panic when they come round & think I must get up ASAP. Mine lay flat out for ages after he came round then got curled up with his legs under him for another wee while before eventually standing up - very sensible, he waited until he was ready to stand without swaying all over the place!!

Anyway I'm sure yours will be OK - Rossdales is a well known practice even to us up here!! Best wishes I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.