A goldfish called George was on the mend in Australia yesterday after undergoing “high-risk” brain surgery in an operation the vet described as “fiddly.”
The 10-year-old fish had a tumor 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.
Photo: Reuters
“She was dedicated enough to give it a go,” veterinarian Tristan Rich, who performed the surgery, told radio station 3AW.
George was knocked out with water laced with anesthetic 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 milliliter,” said Rich from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital. “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.”
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