Professor and Chair, Dept of Eq Med Surg Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine
Midwestern University
Glendale, AZ New River, Arizona
Equine dermal melanomas are commonly surgically resected with little tendency for local recurrence. Location, size and age of the horse dictate the approach. "Resection" can be conventional excision or laser ablation depending upon size. Again, depending upon size of the lesion, local chemotherapy can be successful as a sole therapy. Ancillary chemotherapy for complete resection of well-circumscribed lesions is not typically necessary. Recently, the well-known principle of hyperthermia has been successfully applied to dermal melanomas using a 980-nm GAL diode therapy laser. Outcomes of this treatment will be presented.
