Goldfish Surgery Tumor - A goldfish was spared from dying at the age of 10 through a high-risk surgical procedure that removed a tumor in its brain, Fox News has learned.
On Tuesday, the 10-year-old aquatic animal was subjected to a life-saving brain tumor removal surgery in Australia.
BBC News reports that the fish in the goldfish surgery tumor story named George had undergone the high-risk surgical procedure at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.
According to the Facebook page of the said hospital, George was placed in a bucket of ice water containing anesthetics prior to the operation.
"George had a quite large tumor on the top of his head that was growing slowly, and it was beginning to affect his quality of life," the doctor who performed the operation in the goldfish surgery tumor story, Dr. Tristan Rich, said.
Throughout the risky and delicate procedure, the doctor had to feed a tube containing oxygenated pond water and anesthetics into the fish's gills to keep him alive and sedated.
Instead of having to reconnect the scaly covering of the goldfish's head through sutures, Dr. Rich reportedly used tissue glue instead.
"I gave then owner the option of trying to take [the tumor] off, or putting him to sleep," said Dr. Rich, who added that the owner - a woman who resides in Melbourne - is "quite attached" to her pet that she asked him to do everything he could to spare the small animal's life.
The operation in the goldfish surgery tumor story took about 45 minutes to complete, noted The Sydney Morning Herald.
Following the procedure, George was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers and was put in a bucket of clean water for his recuperation.
"For the owners, it's not about having a fish, it's about having this fish," Dr. Rich told Daily Mail. "If you have a pet, regardless of what it is, then you have a responsibility to look after it as best you can."
Experts say the aquatic animal in the goldfish tumor surgery story may have been given another 20 years of life all thanks to the $200 procedure.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
