Views on sarcoid removal, please!

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keeperscottage

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My daughter's horse, Keeper's Cottage (or Jimmy) had just had a sarcoid removed from his sheath using the Liverpool cream prior to our purchase a year ago. We bought him from a friend whose wife is a vet and we were quite aware of the sarcoid. However, over the year, the sarcoid has grown back and is now the size of a golfball, or possibly even bigger. We were told to leave it alone unless it started bleeding, which it did last weekend. and it is now oozing. I have tried to contact my vet, but we seem to have spent the last couple of days missing one another. Someone I know told me she had a large sarcoid removed surgically from her horse whilst in its own field. I'd rather have any procedure carried out at home, if possible. I'd like to hear your experiences with sarcoid removal, how it was carried out, etc. We are worried that as Jimmy is such a large horse (17.1hh TB) that he will not survive surgery! Looking forward to hearing your tales!
 
Surgical removal of a large sarcoid is not generally recommended by vets with experience of these damn things - unless followed by cryosurgery. It needs treatment - particularly as it has started oozing and will be attracting flies in their thousands!

I have a horse who has had a number of sarcoids removed from his sheath - they were done with Liverpool cream - a few survived and were retreated.

You need to get your vet to send photos of the sarcoid to Derek Knottenbeltat Liverpool Uni who is THE expert - he will be best person to advice on the best treatment.
 
depends on the type of sarcoid. i use Bloodroot cream, very successfully, on any sarcoid i've come across in the last few years.
covering it in vaseline in the meantime will do no harm and will help keep the flies away. even spraying with purple spray or similar would help, i've found... i've got rid of a lot of sarcoids in the past, had a mare who had a lot.
 
I would consider using the cream again , we had to have a couple of treatments before ours went. We were told not to leave it when it started to regrow as the smaller the easier to treat.
 
my mare had a sarcoid rubber banded last year. I know this is an old fashioned method but it was up between her back legs near her udder and the vet thought she wouldn't tolerate the cream being applied to that area for a number of days and also she would of needed to stay at vets as we live 65 miles away so too far to travel her every day or for them to come to us. the vet would of prefered cyro surgery but it would be very expensive so we decided to go with the band and if it didn't work then re think. luckily the sarcoid just shrivlled up and died and fell off a few week later.
 
I have seen a sarcoid surgery of large sarcoids around the sheath area (you know those mini rugby balls... that size
blush.gif
).

After the surgery Liverpool cream was applied. The surgery was VERY bloody. However it was also a BIG horse. They didnt use a general anethetic but a local one and a sedation. All went well as far as the surgery was concerned, not sure if they came back though. Good luck.
 
I have a pony who had a sarcoid on his eyelid and it just dropped off by itself one day in the field, and to this day... touch wood... it hasn't returned!
I agree with lornaA though, I know a racehorse who had a sarcoid on his side and they rubber banded it and it just dropped off.
Good Luck!
 
I ditto taking another set of photos and sending them back up to Liverpool for reassessment. Have had very good results from them myself - even with some of the more stubborn sarccoids. Have tried cryotherapy in the past but didn't work for us.
 
For info, Derek Knottenbelt has retired his chair at Liverpool and now consults at Glasgow dick vet (Weipers equine hospital). He removed 10 from my boy last month under general anaesthetic (7 of which were not immediately visible on the surface as they were growing after the summer spread cycle). You can get lucky and have them drop off (and stay away) or respond to rubber banding etc, however regrowth after any initial attempt renders them more stubborn to any further treatment. I agree that Prof Knottenbelt should be the one to consult with (the man's a god when it comes to sarcoids imo! and a really nice man too).....however I understand that any vet using the Liverpool cream would have had to send pictures to him anyway and get a consultation...but I may be wrong on that.
Good luck to anyone who's horse has these nasty horrid things!
 
I think they have to get his opinion as its classed a trial drug, not for general dispensing and is supplied on a named patient basis, the strength of the cream determined by his assessment.
I, so far have been very lucky. My boy had Liverpool cream, it dropped off and it has not come back. My friend had the end of horses penis amputated, successfully, as it very vascular organ it was done in horspital. I would be worried about secondary infection, if its an open wound. I would ring round a few larger practices who have in patients and get some idea of costs.
 
I don't think leaving a regrowing one is ever a good idea. I'd go for whatever method prof Knottenbolt suggests but another course of Liverpool cream may well work. I've had banded, which stayed away, some lasered, which grew back and then Liverpool cream. My boy has some new ones, under the skin, which I've left to see how they go as they are tiny and the skin isn't blemished.
 
I've been lucky. My boy had one removed from the end of his sheath using the cream and banding method together. At one stage it looked like a volcano erupting lava everywhere, but after about a week the tumour feel off and the site healed really well. Touch wood there has been no sign in over six years, but I do keep a close eye on him and use Vaseline on his sheath in the summer if there are a lot of flies about. He had the treatment done at home and there was snow on the ground, so at least no flies. Definitely get it re treated ASAP, which ever way the vet says.
 
It sounds like a nodular sarcoid , this can removed with the horse standing .
You need an expert vet to look at it but Fatty has had several removed over the years and the area lasered .
It's done standing with the horse sedated .
It's gory but it heals up fine you really need to deal with it before the flies start .
I never let Fatties get big before intervening , fingers crossed it's four years since he got one so perhaps he won't spring anymore .
 
keeperscottage said:
My daughter's horse, Keeper's Cottage (or Jimmy) had just had a sarcoid removed from his sheath using the Liverpool cream prior to our purchase a year ago. We bought him from a friend whose wife is a vet and we were quite aware of the sarcoid. However, over the year, the sarcoid has grown back and is now the size of a golfball, or possibly even bigger. We were told to leave it alone unless it started bleeding, which it did last weekend. and it is now oozing. I have tried to contact my vet, but we seem to have spent the last couple of days missing one another. Someone I know told me she had a large sarcoid removed surgically from her horse whilst in its own field. I'd rather have any procedure carried out at home, if possible. I'd like to hear your experiences with sarcoid removal, how it was carried out, etc. We are worried that as Jimmy is such a large horse (17.1hh TB) that he will not survive surgery! Looking forward to hearing your tales!
Click to expand...


My mare had some which came up after I got her, livery pool cream and another type were applied and she went through 2 courses and they have gone and the last one on the face seems fine though still a dark mark

As the one on her face was a different type and vet said we could put cream on this one but vets did the liverpool cream ones

IMG_3408_zpstymtuem3.jpg


This one was on the inside of the near hide at the top

she had one on the inside thigh of the near hind one her boobies one between her front legs - one in the girth area and one on the side of the face you can see here the dark circle though smooth in th9is picture as this is weeks after treatment

Found_123350616_2185903_zpsdfgabz3m.jpg



If stubborn they may need a couple of courses
 
Last edited:
and!! so what a member must have had a reason and wanted to resurrect it.

There are more important things in life than worrying about the age of the thread, I never check that don't see the point
 
TYSSANDI said:
and!! so what a member must have had a reason and wanted to resurrect it.

There are more important things in life than worrying about the age of the thread, I never check that don't see the point
Click to expand...

It was just a public information announcement as people hadn't realised :p
usually it isnt for a reason it is just because people have googled and it has come up. The fact that prof K has moved away from Liverpool is certainly not helpful to the OP! And then people ask questions of the OP who Is unlikely to ever return. GS hates it so I think she at least appreciates me pointing it out as sometimes it can be missed. If people know and still want to reply then of course that is fine but many don't spot it and would rather help on current threads.
 
In 1997 my vet looked at my previous horse and said the lump on his throat was an 'angleberry' and it was very large.

He asked me to wait until the winter to remove it so there would be less interference from flies, but he kept rubbing it on the barbed wire at the yard where he was at the time and aggravating it. He came out and removed it with scalpel as it had a bit of a neck on it. Because I was curious about it and asking questions (and he was a patient and helpful vet) he then cut the angleberry in half, held it in his fingers, gave me the scalpel and told me to rub the scalpel over it to show me how it felt. It was just like sandpaper inside really rough and I can remember being surprised at how fibrous it was inside.

I designed a neck cover out of knicker elastic and net curtains on my mums sewing machine to keep the flies his neck and it worked a treat and healed up with a few days although he looked a bit of a plonker at the time.

Unfortunately I don't know whether it would have come back or not as I lost him that summer on a fun ride. The vet felt it could have returned as these things often do.
 
Hello, Just in case people are still interested Derek Knottenbelt is now running his sarcoid referral company independently through Equine Medical Solutions Ltd, www.equinesarcoid.co.uk. They also have a Facebook page for sharing information on before and after cases and helpful info on how to manage sarcoids etc. He is also based at the Weipers Equine Hospital at Glasgow University but all referrals for sarcoid assessment now go through Equine Medical Solutions!

Hope that is helpful.
 
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