A boarder at my barn is having quite a time with her horse and recurring sarcoid.
Last June or so, she noticed a growth/bump in his stifle joint. Pointed it out to the vet who said “wait and see”… One thing led to another and summer went by. Finally, late summer, the vet decided to remove it at the barn. It came right back. So off to the Ontario Veterinary College hospital he went. They removed it… Came home and was impossible for his owner to handle and give meds so he went back to OVC in November… had another surgery while there and they inserted biodegradable cisplatin beads.He came home after New Year and went back for another check in early Feb. They found more growth and inserted new beads. Went back in March for c/u and again, more growth, new beads. He just went back yesterday… and… repeat… this time they inserted 6 beads instead of 3 (2 cm re growth). He is going back in 5 weeks!
Histology came back : sarcoid. He also gets laser treatment around the area every time.
His owner is at her wits’ end… how long is this going to go on… Horse was insured, but insurance refused to pay anything involving hospital/surgery because the vet had it in hr notes in June… 6 months had gone by when November surgery occurred. I still believe insurance is a rip-off… I agree that insurance should not cover his stay in hospital because owner could not handle him, but surgery is surgery and policy was still in force. So the beads are roughly $200/3, the surgery under general anesthesia each time, the care, the trailering each time… it sure adds up and the results are NOT THERE!
what is she to do? Horse is now a pleasure to handle, he gets a 1/2 day outside in a restricted paddock (has to have a sheet on), BO husband is willing and does give him his meds at night… He is a big clyde x.
Has anyone had such a story?
We had a horse with a sarcoid, went to OVC for 3 injections of Mitomycin every 8 weeks I believe. The surgeon at OVC said it would shrink the sarcoid, but of course it kept getting bigger and bigger. We were that 1% that instead of shrinking the sarcoid grew, but was all necrotic. The sarcoid exploded (best word for it) and it was a bit of a mess for awhile, needing to be packed and wrapped everyday, it was beside the eye, not an ideal spot. Once it was close to healed it got zapped twice I believe with the CO2 laser. The plan had been to do surgery after the mitomycin or cisplatin beads but we didn’t have to. As much as the whole exploding sarcoid and packing the hole for 8+ was a pain, it did the trick. It’s been about a year since the last check at OVC and all has been good.
So not a story of reoccurrence, but a drug that did work.
Owner is hoping there won’t find anything at next recheck… but this has been going on long enough… Horse is fine other wise. Has not lost any weight during stall rest all winter… But he does love his 1/2 day turn out now. His being in the stifle joint, it cannot be packed, etc. Just protected by a sheet. I feel terrible for horse and owner.
The beads are obviously not working for him.
OH wow. Experience with AGRESSIVE sarcoids here. We had an imported French horse who was amazing. He was Voltaire and jumped like a cat. Anyway, he started with one sarcoid on the bottom of his chest on his forearm area. Soon, there were multiple sarcoids clumped together and they would ooze blood. The location meant that they were always in constant movement. There would grow so fast that the blood supply couldn’t keep up and they would literally fall off and leave these huge holes. Soon, he had a mass of them the size of half a human head. His owner was literally a billionaire so they removed the ones they could and tried all kinds of things and injected them with dex. Test after test was done and there was really nothing we could do. He was about 16 at this point and had had a great show career. He was really only used to puts around and do trail rides for the older owner. It was strictly a cosmetic issue. However, the summer would get tough and he would bleed through the flysheet. Again, they were cosmetic and it was really just gross no pain or anything. We kept wonder dust on them to try to keep them less…well…gross looking. He is still alive and well about 5 years later. It was sad when someone from outside the barn would come and be like eww gross wth is wrong with that horse, but the were literally all cosmetic and the location prevented the removing of the huge mass.
Are her horses bloody and oozing like this or are they just bumps? I’d love to share a picture so you know I’m not exaggerating. It’s on my old phone I’ll have to dig them up.
I don’t recall it oozing in the summer until after the vet removed the first one. Now, when he comes back from the clinic, it does ooze for a few days, but it does close nicely after a week or so. It is also in an area in constant movement. So hard…Can sarcoids turn malignant? or do they remain… sarcoids… She was told the beads have a life span of 30 days… recheck a week later. So she could sit on him during that one week in between. She is not an active rider and that horse is way too much for her anyway. Still he is a good looking horse in his low teens… I wonder too if she just let it go if it would open up and ooze. Don’t know. It has not grown to a big size … they remove it when they find them… but maybe 5 cm at its biggest last summer?
I don’t think our French horse…Nino…yes I know that is Spanish lol ever got cancer as a result. From what you said about how it is removed and it comes back, I don’t think it will ever be gone. But, my experience is only with my one case so don’t take my word for it. His were all different sizes in the one cluster. I will say that he had a few pop up on his neck and whatever they injected made those go away but they were tiny and not bloody like the large mass. Are his recurring in just the one spot or do they seem to be multiplying?
I also knew a pony…also imported, but from whales that had one sarcoid. Same spot as frenchy, but it was never ever bloody or gross. Just a large bump that was about 4-5 cm also. She went on to California, so not sure how hers progressed if they did or not. I think sarcoids are all related, but the French horse just had a really aggressive case. That is how our vet described it. Like I said they would grow so fast that the blood supply couldn’t keep up and some would just pop off. It was definitely something else. He never got infected, but he also lived the horseshow circuit life so he was in a lot and very well taken care of. Not sure how well he would have done on just turnout and basic care. We continued to ride him regularly, but lightly and he acted as if he didn’t even know they were there. Occasionally when one would die off he would bite it off, but that wasn’t more than once or twice a year. Strange strange thing.
The first one is the only one that grew to a bigger size. Every time he goes for a check up, they find more that are small and remove them. I don’t know how it would progress if they stopped the removal and insertion of beads. Owner is not a billionaire and is trying really hard, but it is starting to really add up (+$500 each trip for trailering). She says she has quite the investment in him and won’t give up. Of course, the surgeon is optimistic… Good teaching case I would say! I have no idea if sarcoids can become malignant. It was a relief when the histology came back as sarcoid. They had done tests after the first one, and redid them after the 4th (?) one.
Usually taking off sarcoids just angers them and causing regrowth of the original plus more. It is best to leave them alone if they do not cause any issues besides cosmetics.
My ISH developed a sarcoid on the outside of his right hind, slightly above his fetlock.This was after he cut himself in that area. Because it is on the side he prefers to sleep on I kept it wrapped with a non stick gauze and vetrap to keep it off the rough dirt of his paddock. Note that this was a fibroblastic sarcoid and was oozing quite badly which is why it was wrapped. It was about quarter sized for almost 4 months before it started shrinking. Its now completely gone, however I’m now noticing some new activity above his heel bulb on the same leg. At this point I’m ignoring them unless they get huge and obstruct him in some way (he’s a 20 yr old semi-retired eventer).
I did ask my vet about the sarcoid when she was out to float his teeth and do spring vaccines. She said they could use cryotherapy on it but (1) its painful and not always effective (2) it’ll kill the hair follicle and turn it white, my horse is solid bay and (3) they’ll come back anyway.So basically since he has them in an inconspicuous place, I wrap with the vetrap and then cover it with our normal XC and jumping boots when competing.
I used imiquimod/Aldara cream on the sarcoid on my guy’s face. The imiquimod caused the sarcoid and surrounding skin to ulcerated and peel off. It healed, and there is no scar. A friend used imiquimod on a mare who had sarcoids surgically removed multiple times. After the imiquimod, the sarcoids were finally gone. Check prices at different pharmacies before filling the prescription. The prices vary a lot. Be prepared for the sarcoids to look really big and ugly after putting the cream on a few times. The immune system response to imiquimod can be quite intense. I would talk with a vet who prescribes imiquimod frequently before using it on huge sarcoids.
I know that removing them can cause them to come back and grow which is obviously the case. But how big does it have to get? It is right in the stifle joint, so it could get bothersome too.
I get the feeling at times that Maxx is a good teaching tool at OVC and they don’t mind having him come back again and again. But how many times is too many? I will send her the link.
I had a horse with a recurring sarcoid that was frozen off and didn’t return.
Sarcoids are damn peculiar things to deal with; what works is usually individual horse dependent, and some damn peculiar things work…
For a while there was a Sarcoid List on yahoo, or some such where. At that time, the state of the art treatment was something called Liverpool cream invented by a vet at the University of Liverpool in the UK. It also made a nasty mess before the sarcoid disappeared/was chemically burned out.
Some people have had success, or claimed they did, with old fashioned Crest toothpaste brushed on two or three times daily. An Indian Bloodroot cream was also successful for some.
Acupuncture – if you feel up to it and have a willing veterinary acupuncturist/teacher, you can easily learn where to place the needle after the first treatment.
I got ride of a large sarcoid for $.99 ------ with (trial sized) toothpaste. 
I am not kidding. Crest original or Crest for fighting cavities. Rubbing it in 2x/day with a toothbrush.
It was the size of a silver dollar and growing. In a week, the margins were slightly smaller. Within a month it was gone. That was a year ago and it had not returned.
I heard about it on this very BB and thought I might as well try it before getting a vet involved who would inject or do surgery. Since my success I have told several other people who have tried it. They also had (some) success. Even if it did not go away entirely it stopped growing; they continued on several times a week, so it would stay the smaller size.
I agree with this.
My mare developed a pretty gnarly one on her chest a few years ago. I did a ton of research and came to this same conclusion (and discussed with my vet). Being on her chest, it didn’t interfere with anything, so we left it be and just kept an eye it. After about 1.5 years, last winter her blankets rubbed it off and it hasn’t come back yet.
We removed and fought with our French horse’s sarcoids about 4 times before our vet decided they were just too aggressive. The vet did love doing work on them though and documenting it so I would be careful and decide when they may be simply using him for a study tool like you mentioned.
Does anyone have experience with using imiquimod/Aldara cream after xxterra treatments didnt work? And if so how long did you wait between treatments?
I am also curious WHY sarcoids develop- I cant seem to get a straight answer or any ideas on how to prevent or help her body fight them.
I wish leaving it was an option…if it didnt interfere with our bit/bridle I would definitely go that route
my older mare has a sarcoid, ugly thing looked like an embedded tick at first. It is on the inside, lower left butt cheek, hard to see most of the time if I don’t actively look for it. I checked it in January and it had grown some more but haven’t decided what to do yet.Theory is that it is a herpes virus so I tried some acylovir ointment, didn’t do a thing. May try the toothpaste if it starts rubbing. It definitely bothers me more than her.
Does anybody have experience with the kind that looks like a little blob on the end of a stalk? My gelding has one in his ear and the vet is dying to take it off. We actually have an appointment this afternoon, that I made because I wanted a chance to talk to her about it without playing phone tag 
Is that kind different enough from the flat ones that I could risk having her pinch it off? I don’t particularly care if it’s there or not, but I don’t want to let it get big and ugly because this horse won’t be easy to treat. Any thoughts on systemic, “get the horse as healthy as possible from the inside” strategies? I’d devote some time and money to that sort of thing because I think he needs some attention in that area anyway. Thoughts?
