Equine Oncology Service

In association with Jeremy Kemp-Symonds MRCVS (www.sarcoidsurgery.com) Paton and Lee have become recognised as one of the leading equine practices in the region for the treatment of all types of equine skin tumours, with research papers published internationally with data collected from the patients we have treated. We are able to offer a wide-range of skin cancer treatments to our patients, including cutting-edge therapy with powerful carbon-dioxide laser excision and photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Laser surgery offers numerous advantages when compared to traditional sharp-excision (scalpel) surgery, including the minimisation of both bleeding and the possibility of 'seeding' tumour cells at the wound site, together with significant reductions in inflammation and wound infection due to the laser's cauterising action. These benfits result in swift, uneventful healing and a rapid return to work for our patients, with high owner satisfaction and remission rates of up to 90%. This makes laser surgery our treatment of choice for equine sarcoids and for many other skin tumours.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is widely used in treating human skin tumours, but its use in horses and ponies is novel and we are one of the only facilities in this region to offer the treatment. PDT utilises a light-sensitive cream which is absorbed by more metabolically active cells - such as tumour cells. After absorption the cream is activated by a light of specific wavelength and the cells destroyed. The great benefit of this technique is that it selectively destroys tumour cells with little collateral damage to the surrounding healthy cells. The technique can be used alone for superficial tumours, or alongside laser surgery.

Paton and Lee offer a range of other more traditional tumour treatments to meet our patient's needs, including sharp excision of tumours under local anaesthetic or GA; AW4-LUDES (Liverpool) Sarcoid Cream applications; banding or suturing of small nodular type sarcoids and other methods where suitable.

Below are two videos, the first showing the laser removal of a sarcoid at Paton and Lee and the second longer video showing a lecture given by Jeremy Kemp-Symonds MRCVS at the World Equine Veterinary Congress in Budapest on laser surgery treatment for sarcoids.