I follow this vet, Grace Owen, DVM (Edna, Oklahoma), because she posts interesting and relevant cases. This one is about a hematoma – a giant serum filled lump – that often appear on horses’ chests and hips… places that get kicked.
Missy Miss had a huge hematoma when she first got here. Someone kicked her. I remember sending a pic to my old-tymey vet. He told me to just wait and it would drain on its own, which it did.
However, I’m not saying you should just sit one out. If I saw anything this big, I’d be calling the vet instantly. Holy moly! The below hematoma is HUGE. Scary. So, this is why I’m posting about hematoma/seroma in horses.
FROM GRACE OWEN, DVM.
This is an example of a very large hematoma/seroma. This patient likely got kicked which caused a soft, blood filled swelling. The weight of the swelling continued to stretch the tissue and create a larger swelling. After the bleeding had stopped this seroma was drained and patient was started on antibiotics. This is a fairly dramatic before and after but I’m sure the patient is feeling much better!

The area is left open to drain. Patient will be kept on antibiotics to help reduce the chance of infection.
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