WARNING GRAPHIC! Advice for sarcoid treatment

sidsmum

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DON'T SCROLL DOWN IF SQUEAMISH - THEY ARE VERY GRAPHIC!!!


























I REALLY MEAN IT!!!














































Ok, quick history, (not my horse - owner has asked me to post for advice) the horse has a history of sarcoids and recently they have been getting worse. Vet came 2 weeks ago to administer some sort of chemotherapy (?) cream to make the sarcoids drop off. He said that it would leave a hole and it wouldn't look pretty.

A week ago it started to crack and peel away. It hasn't dropped off but this is the result.

Horse is not insured.
Is on a diy yard and is currently being turned out during the day and in at night.

This is what it looks like.










































It really is quite graphic - final warning!!
















































What are your thoughts, any advice, ever seen anything like this before and how would you deal with it?
How can an open wound this size (bigger than his hoof!) ever heal?

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Leg lifted...

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Poor lad - he stuck his head in my arms while she was cleaning it. :(
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He is not in great condition - dull dry coat with dermititus as well.
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Owner is washing it twice a day.

:(
 

ribena

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Hey

I had the same treatment on my horse a good few years ago. It was on the inside of his thigh and when it started to peel away it looked very similar to that. I had the vet out every couple of days to put the strong cream on then I had to apply some myself everyday, then every 2nd etc Can't remember exact details now. It really looked disgusting until the dead tissue drops off and then it healed very quickly. Avoid putting anything other than water on it ie don't scrub at it with hibi scrub or the like. Call the vet if you are worried at all - I did several times just for reassurance. Is the horse on any bute? Other than that lots of tlc and hay/lage. I had to keep mine in until it had healed up but it was summer time so lots of flies about. Hope it all turns out ok.
x
 

rossiroo

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Take advise from your vet, I was at a yard where a horse had chemical treatment for sarcoids under it's belly, it looked horrendus but healed with barely a scar, there is hope.
 

sidsmum

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Thank you, it's reassuring to hear that others have had similar outcomes too - it's so big that it takes you aback somewhat!

The vet was out yesterday and the photos are being sent off to Liverpool too.
 

smiffyimp

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Firstly - poor little lad!

My boy had scaroids but only the tiny juvenile warty jobs - nothing like this. Give the cream some time, it does take a while for eveything to drop off.
 

Chestnuttymare

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Flippin' heck, I have never seen anything like that! I am sure the vet will get a response from Liverpool soon and give advice.
Chemotherapy kills off good cells as well as bad ones unfortunately so that is probably why it is such an extreme reaction. I agree that I would only use water to clean it as anything else will be too harsh and take longer to heal.
Poor boy, He looks very down in the dumps, can't be pleasant. Hope it heals soon.
 

TicTac

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Hey

I had the same treatment on my horse a good few years ago. It was on the inside of his thigh and when it started to peel away it looked very similar to that. I had the vet out every couple of days to put the strong cream on then I had to apply some myself everyday, then every 2nd etc Can't remember exact details now. It really looked disgusting until the dead tissue drops off and then it healed very quickly. Avoid putting anything other than water on it ie don't scrub at it with hibi scrub or the like. Call the vet if you are worried at all - I did several times just for reassurance. Is the horse on any bute? Other than that lots of tlc and hay/lage. I had to keep mine in until it had healed up but it was summer time so lots of flies about. Hope it all turns out ok.
x


This seems like very good advice and I second the bute idea. keep us posted.
 

PurplePickle

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Never seen it on that larger scale before, my girls sarcs were horrid when they came out, left a big hole which we had to fill with vasaline, also she was on bute, took about 2 months to heal.
 

Dobiegirl

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I hope the horse is on strong pain killers he looks in need of it, I would want the hose pipe on it for quite a while too. If your vet is happy with it and as others have said they have had similar with good results you can only hope the response from Liverpool is quick. If he was mine I would be trying to give him something to boost his immune system.

Hope he heals quickly and is restored to full health he looks a lovely boy.
 

Wagtail

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Don't worry, that is what is supposed to happen and it should heal fine. I wouldn't touch it or bath it at all unless it gets dirty. We had one a couple of years ago very similar to that and now it has healed up fine and not returned. Poor lad though it is not pleasant, but at least it isn't the fly season. That is when you can get problems.
 

whizzer

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What does the horses vet say? My horse had multiple treatments for horrendous sarcoids(Liverpool treatment) but they never ever looked like that.
In regards to healing,manuka honey is truely amazing stuff for horrendous wounds. However I'm not sure how you could dress that area to get the MH to stay in place.
 

Alec Swan

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Wagtail,

when it heals, will you post some pics, and will you PM me to let me know that they're here? I only dip into this section now and then, and quite genuinely, I'd like to see him "mended"!! I'd take pleasure in being wrong. The poor lad.

Alec.
 

Stinkbomb

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The body has an amazing ability to heal itself. My old horse had surgery on a broken rib. The wound after the operation was horrendous. All i did was hose it ( using a spraybottle and tube ) with water and hibiscrub twice a day.

You could fit a whole hand in the hole as he had dead tissue removed also. The time limit between each photo was 3 months.

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Jake10

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Have you asked your vet about using a carbon dioxide laser (can't remember the exact term) to remove the sarcoids?
 

Wagtail

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Wagtail,

when it heals, will you post some pics, and will you PM me to let me know that they're here? I only dip into this section now and then, and quite genuinely, I'd like to see him "mended"!! I'd take pleasure in being wrong. The poor lad.

Alec.

It's not my horse. I am speaking from experience of another horse with an equally bad sarcoid and treatment looked just as horrific. He is completely fine now and was only uncomfortable for about three weeks.
 

Paint Me Proud

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Yipps my mare has a small something under her belly on seeing that she can keep it!!

that would be a massive mistake.

My vet was out a fortnight ago to Chico and i showed her his sarcoids. She said to get them off asap because the longer you leave them the more problems that could arise.

For a single sarcoid it wouldnt be such a problem with the cream - fairly easy to do.

I looks as though the horse in the OP had a large cluster under his armpit which would explain such a large area of wound - obviously the sarcoids have penetrated to a large area under the skin which means a large area will come away with treatment.
 

Laura1812

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I had my old broodie with a sarcoid that looked a lot less horrendous than that PTS this spring as i didnt think it fair to keep her going with it.

I hope he is ok and on lots of pain killers the poor chap.
 

brighteyes

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PTS is a bit extreme but some sort of pain relief is definitely in order. Flies should be kept off it (they actually spread the virus responsible for sarcoids and I'd be very wary of turning horses out in close proximity, if it could be avoided.

Re the general malaise, his immune system is very compromised by all this - boost it in whatever ways you can and don't stress him.

It will mend, given time and some support to the horse.
 

T's mum

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Hi, am new to this site and saw your post. My horse has had sarcoids for years so I know what a nightmare they are.

He has them all round his sheath area and one night I went to bring him in and he wouldn't move, looked down and his back legs were covered in blood. Looked closer and his sarcoids had ripped exactly like the pictures you posted, it was horrific. Vet came and he could put his whole hand in there and said he never seen it do that before.

He advised against box rest as needed the horse to move around to drain it. Next few days the amount of pus coming out was vile, so had to keep hosing it so wouldn't get infected. and fed him antibiotics and bute

It took about 2 months but healed over completely.

I've taken all leg straps off his rugs as don't know if he caught sarcoids on the straps when he rolled or something
and I coat the area in vaseline twice a week to prevent it getting dry and cracking

For that horse I would coat the area in manuka honey - it has amazing healing and antibacterial properties
 

Passtheshampoo

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My youngster had Liverpool Cream treatment 2 years ago. One of her sarcoids was in the "armpit" too and despite the vets efforts the cream will spread to a larger area as the horse moves. My girl was treated in summer and I was advised to put a layer of equigel on the area to keep the flies off (she was living out). The vet also gave me plenty of bute to give her for the pain. She didn't look in pain but I did give her a few sachets over a few days. At its' worst once the cream had killed off the sarcoid there was a hole in the armpit fist size. This did heal quickly but has left a long thin scar which is only noticeable when you know where to look. My vet kept a close eye on my horse although she was insured so I tended to make sure the visits were regular.
I hope the horse n the thread makes a good recovery. My mare has no signs of the sarcoids returning BUT I'm always on the lookout. I'd def agree with the posts regarding building up the immume system and I do tend to give Echinachea ? tablets every so often.
 

Tnavas

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It will heal in time, keep it clean with saline solution - and for great results smother with 'Active Manuka Honey' as this heals skin really fast.

I keep some saline solution in a 2litre pump spray so that it is ready whenver I need it.

I sterilise the bottle first with boiling water and a Milton tablet. To make the saline add 1teaspoon of salt to 1 pint of previously boiled and cooled water.

Would be great to see the healing pictures too.
 

leflynn

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I agree PTS seems extreme, but then people (not on here) made the same comment to me on my horse's sarcoid above his eye. I agree it looks like a cluster pos and also to boost the imune system. When my boy's flare up it's because he drops like a stone (happened twice) and I've been give vits/mins from the bet to perk him up. I make sure he has plenty of vits/mins etc at the moment and I'm also pondering the sarc-ex supplement too.

I hope he makes a full recovery, after using manuka honey & saline for a barb wire injury would also recommend them as a healing tool too :)
 

Blaise

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An old lad of mine had a nasty one on the inside of his foreleg. Had it treated and this is the results after about 2 weeks:

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and after about 6/7 weeks:

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After about a month it looked worse than that- the whole black area dropped off and left a gaping hole, it looked really awful. It healed up to a tiny scar after a few months which could hardly be seen through his coat. He was fine throughout, on 2 bute per day to help with pain and inflammation but other than that he was his normal self. It looks horrific now but i bet it will heal just fine with time :) Keep doing what you're doing and listen to any advice Prof. Knottebelt gives you- no-one knows more than him about sarcoids.

(sorry for huge photos- dont know how to resize them... )
 
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