Vet wants to cut sarcoid off ear, how successful is it?

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R.A.H

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My horse has a sarcoid on his ear which is quite nasty & has a few on his thighs which aren't too bad. I posted pics last week of his ear. Well the vet has recommened that the one on his ear gets cut out because the cream will deform his ear more than it being cut & the ones on his thighs be freezed off. I've read all the sarcoid posts that I can find. Is it normally successful when cut out? & when froze?
Thanks
 
Have you thought of getting another vet in for a second opinion, I didn't see your pics but all vets have different ideas but if they say the same thing you would know for sure. sorry couldn't be more helpful
 
Here's a few photos, it is a little bit bigger now.
DSCF2349.jpg

DSCF2347-1.jpg

Sorry if the photos are huge
 
If it were me I would be going with the vet on this one. cut and freeze, get it gone as quick as you can. I would not be b*ggering about with cream, especially on his ear. It looks nasty and if it was my ned I would be positively begging them to cut it out.
 
My horse had a sarcoid removed from his sheath 3 or 4 years ago with cryro surgery. Site was unsuitable for Liverpool cream.

It all went very smoothly, and so far there has been no recurrence.
 
I'm not sure what other people's experiences have been of cutting sarcoids off but my experience has been bad. I don't know whether it was an exception case or not. My friend's hanoverian had a smallish sarcoid on his flank- it was cut off and it came back. This year will be the sixth time she's had it cut off and it is now absolutely huge! I don't know whether the results would have been different if it had been treated with creams etc but cutting off definitely didn't work well for him.
 
Has your vet sent pictures to Prof Knottenbelt at Liverpool? As the resident sarcoid expert he is probably the best person to advise as to what the best treatment might be. As another poster said, the only trouble with any kind of surgical intervention is that messing with a sarcoid can just make it grow back more aggressively. However there are some sarcoids for which surgical removal is the only option - I am not, nor will I ever be, a sarcoid expert though, so I wouldn't want to comment on whether your horse's sarcoid might fit this category.

Also, please DO NOT use camrosa / any other cream etc on it in the meantime - camrosa is designed to stimulate cell growth, therefore putting it on a skin cancer is just going to make the problem far far worse.
 
mollylolly said:
hi, no idea if you have tried it already but how about camerosa? i have heard that works for sarcoids? :)
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No no no no no.......god what a suggestion! You want to make the thing grow?

O.P go with the vet, that looks sore, and cutting out in one swoop will avoid him long term getting touchy over his ears if you go down the cream route.
You just need to be aware that sometimes the bleddy things grow back.
Asking your vet to have a chat with Prof Knottenbelt wouldnt be a wasted call either.
 
A horse at work has quite a few sarcoids, including one in each ear. Those were cut out about 6 months ago, but came back straight away, and MUCH more aggressive (the bigger one was about the size of a cherry before surgery, and the size of a satsuma a month after!).
We're now treating them with Liverpool cream, but it's too early to tell if it's working.
Looking at the photo, I wonder if it would be worth a try banding it?
 
faerie666 said:
A horse at work has quite a few sarcoids, including one in each ear. Those were cut out about 6 months ago, but came back straight away, and MUCH more aggressive (the bigger one was about the size of a cherry before surgery, and the size of a satsuma a month after!).
We're now treating them with Liverpool cream, but it's too early to tell if it's working.
Looking at the photo, I wonder if it would be worth a try banding it?
Click to expand...

Cutting into a sarcoid will almost inevitably make it grow like stink! Cutting should only be used in conjunction with freezing!

But ears are a bit of a hard place for cryosurgery (the freezing gas can run downwards and cause damage where you don't want it!) These sarcoids are two thick through the base for banding - and I would certainly want photos sent to Prof. K. for his opinion on the most suitable treatment! They look nasty and obviously are quite aggressive!
 
i would ask for a referral to liverpool, and take the horse there for an opinion/treatment. you might be able to get the sarcoids lasered off, then follow up with cream treatment. personally NO i would not just get it surgically removed esp as he has other sarcoids! a little bit like poking a hornets nest. Now ans the nest couple of months is the best time to deal with this problem as the flies have gone virtually. i would be taking it to liverpool. Derek Knottenbelt is very helpful and will give you a fairly accurate prognosis and treatment plan. Good luck let us know the outcome.
 
I had a sarcoid frozen off the base of my horse ear 6 years ago, and fingers crossed, it hasn't returned.

He didn't cut though, the 'cutting' was done by the freezing - not sure if thats what you meant? It had to be left open obviously, which meant it was pretty disgusting for a while, but when it finally scabbed off it healed well. He now has a scar where you can tell something happened, but not big enough to see unless you're looking for it. :)
 
mollylolly said:
re camrosa - its what i had heard maybe suitable - obviously not, no need to get arsey.

hope you can rectify his problems :)
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Mollylolly: you are correct in what you have heard that camrosa do 'advertise' as being suitable for these type of growths, but the other posters were correct in their response, and from my understanding there is no real respect for a product that is branded as a 'wonder product to cure all ailments'
http://www.camrosa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=137

http://www.camrosa.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=102
 
My mums horse had a sarcoid removed by freezing, just to one side of his girth on his tummy a few years ago - it has never returned and left a small hairless scar. Although it wasn't big, and was taken off due to location.

My Shetland pony has just had what turned out to be a sarcoid removed from his sheath near the tip. It was only the size of a large pea, but in recent weeks had granulated. This has been cut off and stitched, and the back part of the removed flesh was very clean so we're hoping it won't grow back as there were no roots (time will tell)
I asked about freezing and he said the skin is too sensitive in this instance and could have caused more problems.

I am watching and waiting now, and trying to resist the urge to remove the disolvable stitches.
 
The vet said he will cut around the sarcoid with a large border if that makes sense. Hoping not to leave anything behind. He said that he has seen the cream leave horses ears floppy or twisted or curled up from the cream he said it does something to the cartilidge. So think he was thinking that the cream would be a last resort if the damn thing comes back.
Here's a photo I was shown of a horse that has lost some of its ear from cream
IMG_4425.jpg
 
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