Ethmoid Hematoma or possible nasal tumor - please share your experiences

[Helicon]

Please share your stories so I can get a grip on what I am up against.

My mare has a chronic nosebleed due to a large growth high up inside her nostril. The vets have tried to treat it like an ethmoid hematoma but it has not responded to injections. A biopsy for cancer was inconclusive. They are recommending a CT now and possible surgery. The surgery would be major as they have to cut into her skull. The prognosis if it is cancer is bad. The prognosis for a hematoma is better, but I have also heard of many horses living with them for years without surgical intervention and a few even resolving.

[Sweetums_Mom]

My OTTB gelding (around 13) had the surgery for an ethmoid hematoma. It was about the size of a man’s fist. They found it while scoping him to see why he had a couple of nosebleeds. He was at the vet center for about 4 days total and came home with staples across his face. We all joked that he looked like Frankenstein.

For the next few months, I took him back to the vet center every couple of weeks and had him scoped to make sure the growth didn’t come back as I was told it was a possibility. He did very well in recovery and we went back to our normal routine. He lived for another 10 years and as far as I can remember, he never had another nosebleed.

Hoping this helps and it doesn’t turn out to be cancer…:concern:

[candico]

We had one that belonged to a boarder at our barn. She had it injected at least twice - really gross smell and discharge afterwards. It continued to come back/exist and his stall kinda looked like a murder house and you just never wore nice clothes around him. He was at the age to be retired anyway so he went to a retirement facility so not sure if it fully ever resolved, but I do know he lived quite a few more years.

[Helicon]

Thank you Sweetums and Candico.

Candico do you know if she ever got a Cat Scan on it to see how invasive it was?

Sweetums, may I ask, how much was the surgery? The quote I got seemed very expensive.

[AKB]

Two horse on our street had the surgery. They did well and healed quickly. The big scars faded to be almost invisible. Years later, both horses had recurrences. The one had a second surgery. I don’t know about the other.

[Sweetums_Mom]

It was around $1,500 which at the time I thought was fairly reasonable for the amount of time he was there and the excellent care he got. It didn’t include the follow-up appointments though. Remember, though, this was over 10 years ago. I went to the Ohio State Equine Center.

Also, just by looking at him, you would never know he had any kind of surgery to his face.

[Helicon]

Wow that’s a fabulous price. Do you remember if it had invaded the sinus cavity, or was it just in nasal passage?

[Sweetums_Mom]

It was in the sinus cavity. Just remember that this was 10 years ago…

[candico]

This particular horse had already had major surgery for a neck basket, where they had to go in a second time to double check they hadn’t left a sponge in there, and colic surgery. So another surgery wasn’t really a consideration I think especially since he was around twenty I think. Just the scoping and injecting. They did try some TCVM herbs, but they did not help in this case.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

I had a horse with an ethmoid hematoma back in 1991. So what, 25 years ago?

His surgery did not go well and he was under for a lot longer than expected. He ended up clotting and suffering from an “embolic showering of the brain” or in other words, several strokes.

He was paralyzed in his hind end for several days, but ended up recovering relatively well, to the point he could do WTC and a small course. For about 18 months. He had more strokes, and his cognition and behavior declined to the point where he was no longer safe to handle.

I ended up donating him to the research veterinary hospital that had done the initial surgery and cared for him after the strokes. He was a unique case, and I thought allowing them to study him might be useful.

They did so, for three weeks (he was in no pain), and then euthanized him and did a thorough post-mortem.

And I am very proud to say that my little OTTB contributed to the development of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), the “miracle” stroke drug for humans.

Sorry for the non-sequitur story, but every time I see ethmoid hematoma, I think of him and all we learned from him.

[Halt_Near_X]

I had a mare with different sinus issues, but for whatever this is worth:

The CT scan was well worth the money in her case. They put her under for the scan and she handled that very well, recovered from it without issues, etc. The information we got from the scan was significantly more useful than information we had gotten from other diagnostics. I would do a CT scan again, and probably sooner than I did it in her case.

She had C-flap surgery and was euthanized within a few weeks after, due to complications in her recovery. Since her surgery was for something different and she had some unexpected things show up on a follow-up appointment, I’m not sure how applicable that experience would be to your situation. But I would highly recommend you talk to your vet about the recovery period after the surgery, because if complications set it, they can be very difficult to treat.

[Zu_Zu]

no advice or knowledge of such ~ just sending Jingles & AO for your mare ~

((hugs)) laced with strength and patience for you ~

[Sweetums_Mom]

[QUOTE=DarkBayUnicorn;8514740]
I had a horse with an ethmoid hematoma back in 1991. So what, 25 years ago?

And I am very proud to say that my little OTTB contributed to the development of tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), the “miracle” stroke drug for humans.

Sorry for the non-sequitur story, but every time I see ethmoid hematoma, I think of him and all we learned from him.[/QUOTE]

Thank you…and him…:sadsmile:

[Bearskin]

Dealing with this now with my Arab gelding. Before coming to me he was diagnosed via scope. Injected with Formalin, then cauterized. It returned. He has been injected twice now (two weeks apart) and we will laser cauterize to see what happens. It is only the size of pinto bean. Minimal bleeds. Not much discharge following injections.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

[QUOTE=Sweetums Mom;8515170]
Thank you…and him…:sadsmile:[/QUOTE]

Thank you. It was hard to do at the time, but I am still so proud. My little $500 OTTB rescue saves lives every day. That drug is amazing, if it is administered in the window of opportunity.

[Helicon]

Thank you for all the interesting responses. Some are scary but I guess its important to know the risks.

We did the CT scan today. We still don’t know what it is but it is huge. Her right nasal cavity and right sinus are completely full. The vets will give a full report tomorrow. Poor girl is okay so far, but mopey and her breathing is raspy.

[VTMorgan06]

My friends horse has a sinus tumor a few years ago. She started having intermittent nosebleeds while riding for a few days, then she went downhill, had a fever and went off her feed. It was January and very cold, so when the mare breathed out you could only see breath coming out of one nostrile. When the vet xrayed they could see a mass and she ended up going in for surgery a day or two later. She ended up having a massive tumor that came out in two pieces, the larger one about the size of a tennis ball. She recovered pretty well, but being winter in VT the metal staples in her face made her get really cold. Plus her whole face was clipped.

Good luck!