Equine Summer 2010 Newsletter - DOWNLOAD NOW!Joey - Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Joey is a 20+ year old pony who was rescued from a show in July 2008. Soon after he arrived at his new home his owners noticed that there were occasionally a few drops of blood around his sheath and a strange lump on the end of his penis. They called Oakhill and one of our vets came out to examine Joey. He was very suspicious that the lump was a Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a type of cancer commonly seen on the penis or third eyelid that damages surrounding tissue and can spread elsewhere in the body. Initially Joey did not seem bothered by the tumour, however within a few months he was clearly very irritated by it’s presence and had started to bite himself, traumatising the mass and generating an unpleasant discharge. At this point the decision was made to bring Joey into the practice for surgery to remove the tumour.
In order to remove as much of the mass as possible it was necessary to remove the entire end of Joey’s penis involving complicated surgery to construct a new urethral opening to allow him to urinate normally (see picture).
Joey made a speedy recovery from the surgery and was soon back out in the paddock at home. He is much more comfortable now and is a firm favourite with his fan club of young riders, even though he has become a little cheeky now that he feels better.