Vets remove tumour from tiny fish in ‘first ever UK surgery’

A vet has reportedly carried out a UK first by removing a tumour from a tiny Molly fish which weighs less than a gram.

The little creature, which looks exactly like a Goldfish, was rushed into the surgery after its owners noticed a lump on its belly.

Staff at Highscoft Rabbit, Small Mammal & Exotic Vets, Bristol, which normally operate on iguanas and snakes, immediately diagnosed a tumour and prepared the fish for surgery.

The emergency procedure saw vets put a catheter in the fish’s mouth before giving it anasthetics and removing the mass within 40 minutes.

When the sedation drugs wore off, the fish woke up and returned home later the same day.

Exotic species vet Sonya Miles said: ‘It was definitely the smallest animal we’ve seen here.

‘It barely registered on our scales.

‘Both modern and veterinary medicine has advanced over time so we’re able to perform.

‘It’s a pretty simple procedure and took no longer than thirty or forty minutes.

‘We submerged the fish in a container of anaesthetic solution.

‘Once the righting reflex is lost and the fish is asleep it was the laid on the operating area.

‘The fish is kept wet (which makes the puddle), the mouth is catheterised and different concentrations of anaesthetic are injected over the gills to keep the fish at a stable level of anaesthesia.

‘The area covered with a water proof paste as stitching the skin closed isn’t a possibility.

‘The fish was then woken up in fresh oxygenated water.

‘The operation was a success as we were able to remove the tumour before it started to upset its balance.

‘You definitely have to have steady hands and good eyesight. It was definitely a team effort.

‘We’re glad to have been able to help the fish before the tumour started to upset its balance.’