Large, benign Sarcoid - Removal options

[thecolorcoal]

My mare has a gigantic sarcoid on her right hind coronary band. It was documented when I bought her, but since having her (two years) it’s grown almost twice in size. It’s about an 1.25 inches wide. I just emailed my vet asking about surgical removal. He, originally, was not keen on it because he thought it would only grow back, but she’s opened the sarcoid up about three times this month and I swear, every time it gets re-injured it grows bigger. I also am worried about the rehab amount. We’re in the pre-show season and my mare has a leaser, and I’d need to inform her that Mare will be out of commission during healing time. Our barn is incredibly clean and disease-free, but I know it would break my horse’s heart to have stall rest away from her friends while her surgical site closes up…

What methods are there for removing huge, single-nodule sarcoids? Or even treating? She only has one.

[Ballygrace]

We went through sarcoid removal last year. Our mare has several sarcoids one in her girth area. After it was biopsied it really grew. We took her to VA Tech vet hospital where they did laser surgery then three rounds of chemo beads. So far the tumor has not come back. I think the key is to talk to a specialist, in our case Dr. Sullins.

[PNWjumper]

I just treated a couple of sarcoids with Neoplasene (sounds like it’s pretty similar to Xxterra). It was a pretty gruesome process, but kind of awesome too :lol: That’s where I’ll go again any time I need to deal with a sarcoid in the future.

[thecolorcoal]

@PNWjumper Thank you, I will definitely look into that product. Vet just sent me an email regarding my inquiry… he wants to set up an appointment I guess he’s concerned about this too… I’m really not looking forward to surgical rehab! D:

[Bem55]

I have also removed sarcoids with Xxterra, it was really gross but fascinating. I had a number of small module ones in the armpit area and wart like ones on the stomach. Seems to have dealt with them!

[thecolorcoal]

@Bem55 - did it work on very, very large sarcoids? or do you know, at all, if it would?

[Bem55]

I can’t see why it wouldn’t - you just may need a couple of goes at it. The area I had was a bit smaller than the palm of my hand and eventually it flaked off leaving pink skin.

[CanteringCarrot]

My WB had 2 sarcoids removed from his sheath that never came back. They were increasing in size, so I had them surgically removed. I originally kept him in for about 2 weeks with light hand walking and then he somehow tore open the incision site and had a giant gaping (I could fit my fist in there) hole. It could not be restitched and it’s a hard area to bandage (you’d have to sew the bandage to the skin) but it was winter, there were no bugs, and I ended up allowing him to have some turnout for movement. I cleaned the site daily, and he was just fine.

I think with the leg you will have an easier time bandaging. If you do it in the winter, I think it is better without the bugs and heat. Maybe in your case you can use one of the topical options.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Get a referral to the nearest vet school. Vet schools are not too expensive.
Or switch vets. Your vet may not feel that he can handle surgery on the sarcoid.

[AKB]

Imiquimod/Aldara cream.

[North_Dakota]

Sarcoid’s don’t like being touched or poked with needles or having the ‘crust’ broken, they grow back bigger each time. We had a horse that had a sarcoid in a bad spot, so the vet hospital got in Mitomyacin and did 3 rounds of injections, then lasered it. That wasn’t the plan, but the sarcoid for lack of a better description blew up and exploded with necrotic loveliness on the inside. That was after injection #3, once it healed it got the 2 rounds of lasering. I’ve got photo of it all, I don’t post them because they aren’t the prettiest.

Here is the part that made me fill a bit silly, but it worked. During all this we found sarcoids in his ear, feeling very frustrated and defeated (the exploding sarcoid had to be packed every day) I turned to the internet (and COTH)! Anyways, I found in a post on here about Dr. Reckeweg’s R-17. It’s some homeopathic drops for tumours and stuff. My SO and I decided what the heck, for how much has been spent so far on the exploding sarcoid, whats $25? We also used R-88, it’s for viruses, and since sarcoids are sort of a maybe a virus as well, why not? Long story short, in 6 weeks the ear sarcoids disappeared, the exploding sarcoid healed beautifully and knock on wood, hasn’t come back.

I picked up more R-17 and R88 for a horse that the vet thinks has a sarcoid in his ear, figured we may as well give it another shot before starting to cut things out of him (he doesn’t like his ears touched on a good day).

It was TrueColours post on this thread https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/horse-care/201880-sarcoid-treatment-recommendations/page2 that I found the R-17, there are some before and after photos in there.

[asterix]

I had a large sarcoid on my horse’s sheath removed and chemo beads put in. All was good for a year or two and then it came back twice as big and twice as angry. Xxterra didn’t do anything for it then.
I’d try a topical treatment before I went to surgery.

[tazycat]

Op hasn’t been back. From looks of it they are on another forum. Posting about all the horses issues.

[PREconvert]

Hi all. First post so please bear with me. I wanted to post because no one has mentioned Immunocidin. We used it and it was amazing.

My new guy (absolutely adorable wonderful love him PRE from Coves Darden) came with what looked like a rubbed spot from his fly mask on the back of one ear. 1 month later, it was larger and harder. It kept spreading and hardening until it looked like he was growing a chestnut on his ear. I had the vet look at it and yes, it was a wart like sarcoid. We watched it for 2 months but it kept spreading and thickening. Vet said I could try Xterra but she had had also had good results with Immunocidin. It’s been used in dogs for sarcoid and now is approved for horses.

Xterra might have worked (who knows) but my boy is so sweet and well mannered, I decided I didn’t want to risk making him headshy by torturing his ear (once it starts to work, applying XTerra hurts like hell). So we went with Immunocidin and absolutely it’s been fabulous. No clinic visits, surgery, or even repeat vet calls. It was tough to inject because the sarcoid was so hard, but still it was 1 vet call, Rompun, twitch, and the Immunocidin, $300 in all and everything is expensive where I live. After 2 weeks it just started to shrink. Vet had warned me it would erupt and be gross, but after a month there was just a small clean opened abscess site. Not even pus and not a day when he minded a halter or bridle going on over it. It’s been almost 2 months and we are back to where it looked like at first, just a rub, with hair growing over it and all, and improving everyday.

Nothing is cheap with horses but this was a great value, not just because surgery or immunotherapy would have cost way more. For my horse, it was a minor procedure, the whole healing process has been pain free, and for me his ear looks nearly perfect even now.

I highly recommend trying Immunocidin first.

[sascha]

I’ve had one cryo’d off a gelding with absolutely no issue, and one treated with Xxterra on my mare. Gelding’s was the raised ugly kind. Mare’s was the flatter type that we initially mistook for yet another fungal dermatitis until we ran through all those meds and went, hmm, biopsy time lol

Xxterra definitely took longer and my mare found it Very Unpleasant, TYVM, but I’d do it again. It was easy, and left no scar. My vet was more worried about that than I was, but I must say I am pleased she has no scar

When I had same mare at her dermatologist (not. even. kidding. wish I was) he mentioned some sort of something about if the 2nd round of Xxterra didn’t work, there was some sort of immunotherapy of some sort that we could do so maybe look into that, or have your vet call a veterinary dermatologist.

In other news … see my post in The Menagerie for yet another treatment for sarcoids. Cimetidine and Azithromycin. No idea if it will work (we are now calling my cat a guinea pig) or if it’s even something to consider with a horse, but maybe worth looking into.

[adcurtiss]

Following… my horse has about 9 large sarcoids and we’ve done lots of different things to try to treat them. Had one on his sheath surgically removed but it grew back. We’ve tried multiple homeopathic remedies that either did nothing or made things worse. Tried Xxterra too and it hasn’t worked. It’s such a frustrating problem!!

[Sistersiouxz]

In 1990, I had a mare with a sarcoid tumor about where the girth would fit, half way down her side. My vet was given by another vet, a small vial of a Native American Manzanita berry and ? salve to try. He thought my horse would be a good trial. My vet removed the very top of the tumor and then I applied the salve each day. The tumor just sloughed off in thin layers and never came back and no scar…nothing, like it was never there. Many years later when I needed more salve for another horse, my vet couldn’t recall where it came from. I thought it was a miracle and he couldn’t remember. Oh, well. It was probably THE miracle cure and it died with the makèr.

[Classic_Melody]

I have an appointment to have my gelding’s sheath sarcoid surgically removed in January. I have been reading about topicals, but his sarcoid is internal (you only see raised lumps under the skin). Does anyone have any experience with that type of sarcoid? Also, given the location, it may be very difficult to treat topically. It has grown since the biopsy (wish I had known that was a thing) and seems to be growing back between his legs which I can barely reach or see under normal circumstances. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Scribbler]

@tazycat

Op hasn’t been back. From looks of it they are on another forum. Posting about all the horses issues.

There are other forums than COTH? seriously though what are current active horse forums to browse?

[tazycat]

@Scribbler

There are other forums than COTH? seriously though what are current active horse forums to browse?

www.horseforum.com. here’s the forums OP is on same user name as here. It’s a pretty active horse forum. All the other horse forums ,are pretty slow not much activity.

I’m a member of above forum but only look don’t post. Interesting though to read there . Go do some snooping.