Goldfish undergoes 'high-risk' brain surgery
Tumour reportedly caused pain for George the fish, who also suffered 'bullying' from his fellow pond dwellers
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 16 September, 2014, 5:50pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 17 September, 2014, 2:17am
Agence France-Presse in Sydney
10-year-old goldfish George had to undergo surgery for a tumour. Photo: Reuters
A goldfish called George was on the mend in Australia on Tuesday after undergoing “high risk” brain surgery in an operation that the veterinarian described as “fiddly”.
The 10-year-old fish had a tumour protruding from its head, leaving his owner with two options: to have it operated on or have the fish put to sleep.
The Melbourne-based owner opted for the delicate surgery.
“She was dedicated enough to give it a go,” the vet who performed the operation, Tristan Rich, told commercial radio station 3AW.
George was knocked out with anaesthetic for the 30-minute procedure and is now recovering well back in his home pond, Rich said.
“It was quite fiddly as you can imagine and you have to control any blood loss. You can only lose half a millilitre,” said Rich from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.
A tube was inserted into the fish's mouth, feeding anaesthetic. Photo: Reuters
“Obviously it was high-risk but everything went well in the end.”
Rich said he knew of goldfish that had lived till they were 30 and he had performed similar operations before.
“The owner was quite attached to him,” he said. “Everyone forms bonds to pets in different ways and it is not up to us to distinguish between species.”
Rich added that the operation cost “a few hundred dollars”. A new goldfish from a pet shop would cost less than A$10 (HK$69.90).
Veterinarian Tristan Rich said the operation was highly fiddly, particularly when it came to controlling blood loss. Photo: Reuters
According to the Washington Post, Rich’s procedure involved setting up numerous buckets with different levels of anaesthetics. Then a tube was placed into the fish’s mouth to pump water with a smaller dosage of anaesthetic.
He then removed a “large tumour” from George’s head, using a special medical sponge to help control the bleeding. The fish’s head was closed with a few stitches of thread and tissue glue, the Post reported, citing a Facebook post by the hospital.
George was then placed in a recovery unit and given oxygen, pain relief injections and antibiotics. The goldfish took a couple of breaths on his own, and he was back swimming in no time, the report said.
The brain tumour had grown over the course of the year and Rich said “the fish was having trouble eating, getting around and he was getting bullied by other fish”, the Post reported.
