A 9-year-old goldfish in Australia had surgery to remove a tumor from his head, likely saving his life.
A beloved pet goldfish recently underwent lifesaving surgery to remove a growth on his head.
Nine-year-old Bubbles, a white and red goldfish, had a tumor on its head that Melbourne, Australia veterinarian Dr. Tristan Rich feared could keep him from eating and swimming properly.
In an unusual and complicated procedure, Dr. Rich was able to remove Bubbles' tumor, likely saving the little fishy's life.
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The first step of the process involved sedating Bubbles.
“Bubbles went for a swim in the bucket with knock-out anaesthetic and once he was asleep, we ran a tube from the maintenance bucket which was being oxygenated into Bubbles’ mouth so the water washed over his gills,” Dr Tristan wrote in a Facebook post.
Now able to breathe outside the water, Bubbles was able to undergo the surgery.
“We worked quickly to remove the tumour and sealed the wound with tissue glue. Once that had set, Bubbles was placed in the recovery unit and given oxygen," Dr. Rich wrote.
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Just like a human patient, Bubbles will likely feel pain from the surgery for a while, so Dr. Rich gave him injections with long-acting pain relievers and antibiotics.
"Soon afterwards he took a couple of breaths on his own and started swimming around,” Dr. Rich said.
As Dr. Rich notes, goldfish can live as long as 30 years. By that math, the good doctor may have added some 20 years to Bubbles' life.
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