Fish and snips: Australian goldfish surgery goes 'swimmingly well'
Fish and snips: Australian goldfish surgery goes 'swimmingly well'
Reuters: Lort Smith Animal Hospital, Handout via Reuters
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A pet goldfish named George was recovering "swimmingly well" after emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening head tumor, a veterinarian at an Australian animal hospital said.
Veterinarian Tristan Rich said 10-year-old George was unable to eat or swim properly and was starting to "really suffer", which tipped the scales on the decision to operate.
George, the beloved pet of an unidentified woman who had become "quite attached" to her fishy friend, was sedated in a bucket of water laced with anaesthetic.
Rich then used a gelatine sponge to control bleeding during the tricky piscatorial procedure, which lasted for 45 minutes.
"It's a very fiddly procedure, and you have to be very careful about blood loss," Rich, of the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in southern city of , told Australian media on Monday.
George's wound was sealed with tissue glue and he was given injections of antibiotics and painkillers. He is expected to live another 20 years.
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"Fish and Snips" LOL..
Cute, good for old fishy.
Maybe it's just me, but it never occurred to me to bring a Gold Fish to the Vet's!
Good find Nona! I saw this on the news the other day...my first reaction was "you've got to be f'n kidding me!" Surgery on a goldfish...who knew!! I agree, I would have never thought to take a fish to the vet!
LOL...Stranger things have happened I guess...
I think that is your cousin that the Vet saved!!!!
If you did that BF. A Great White would have used you as sashimi.
ROFLMAO !!
LOL Kavika!
I am wondering what the surgery cost! Just taking Wally in for an annual and blood work costs me about $160.
Australia has a single payer system. Care was excellent the fishy didn't have to declare BK.
I'm very glad to see that other people love their fishies, too! And BRAVO to the vet who was willing to try the surgery to make him comfortable and keep him alive!