Seahorse surgery

Knight~Ryder · 03-27-2008, 09:15 PM

A very unusual patient visited the Ryan Hospital on April 23. A six-inch, two-year-old female seahorse was brought to the Hospital by veterinarians from the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The seahorse had a pea-size growth on its pectoral fin, near the gills. “Last October we removed a mass by conventional surgery,” said Dr. Caryn Poll of the National Aquarium. “But the mass grew back and we are here to have it removed by laser surgery.”
Chick Weisse, V’98, lecturer in surgery, enjoys working with marine animals and has performed numerous surgeries on fish. The little seahorse was his first patient of the Hippocampus variety.

The animal was anesthetized in water; it took about five minutes for it to become unconscious. Then it was removed from the water and placed on the table, and Dr. Poll carefully syringed water over the gills while Dr. Weisse used the tiny laser probe to remove the tumor. He then used the laser to ablate the tumor bed in the hope of removing any remaining cancer cells that could regrow. “Seahorses have a bony layer within the skin, called osteoderm, so one can’t just cut away the tumor without leaving a large defect,” said Dr. Weisse. “The laser removed the layer of cancer cells while sealing the blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics.”

The surgery lasted only minutes, and that same day, the Hippocampus reidi was safely back in her tank at the National Aquarium, swimming around. In lay language she is called a longsnout seahorse, and her natural home is the Western Atlantic.

Source: www.vet.upenn.edu/.../59/seahorse_surgery.html

PowerJuice · 03-28-2008, 08:09 AM

is there realy a piont to posting this?

Knight~Ryder · 03-28-2008, 08:23 AM

Is there really a point in making your 5th post a negative one?

I personally think it's quite neat how that can be done. I am hoping other people can share their experiences with thier fish, so we can all learn even more.

I love learning something new everyday.

PowerJuice · 03-28-2008, 08:26 AM

whatever floats your boat...

Ice · 03-28-2008, 09:40 AM

Wow ! That's cool ! It's always good to hear stuff like this. Interesting story.

sarahbellum · 03-28-2008, 10:55 AM

This story is really cool. I'm glad they didn't just go "oh, it has a problem, let it go". They took the time and the money and saved a seahorse.

Sometimes, I run across stuff on here where I'm like, "Really? You HAD to post that" but I don't make a negative comment. I just skip it when it pops up in the updates section. If you asked a question or a comment that someone who has more experience then said "DUH!" to, you wouldn't want them to go, "Why did you ask that? Thats a stupid question!".

CollegeReefer · 03-28-2008, 11:38 AM

Very interesting thanks for posting!

Madam Macaw · 03-28-2008, 11:48 AM

I agree. That is a very interesting post. Thank you.

flamingo · 03-28-2008, 02:54 PM

I read this about a year ago, if that even, but it's still interesting... even more so since it's "just a common reidi." A common species you can easily 'replace' if needed.

**Scuba Kid** · 03-28-2008, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PowerJuice

is there realy a piont to posting this?

For the interest of other members perhaps? Not sure what your problem is.

Very interesting. I always do enjoy reading articles like this.

PowerJuice · 03-28-2008, 04:47 PM

sorry bad mood today my fiji puffer jumped out today and down the heater vent i cant reach him but i can just barely see him ughi even tryed using a long clamp like this hes doen there 5-7 feet >.> right before the vent turnes a different direction I CANT IMAGINE WHY ITS OPEN

trashion · 03-29-2008, 08:10 PM

This sounds weird and he might not survive it BUT...try a vacuum cleaner with a narrow attachment. I heard of someone doing this with a hamster that went down the drain, and it was okay, it just got sucked up against the vacuum attachment. At any rate, it's probably dead by now :\ so your best bet is to get it OUT of the heating system.

PowerJuice · 04-01-2008, 02:44 PM

actually i thought of the vaccum cleaner idea ( before you posted ) and i got him out alive ^_^ hes a little sickly right now ( not to much movement ) but im sure he' ll be fine... ( i hope )

03-27-2008, 09:15 PM	#1
Knight~Ryder Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Age: 26 Posts: 208	Seahorse surgery A very unusual patient visited the Ryan Hospital on April 23. A six-inch, two-year-old female seahorse was brought to the Hospital by veterinarians from the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The seahorse had a pea-size growth on its pectoral fin, near the gills. “Last October we removed a mass by conventional surgery,” said Dr. Caryn Poll of the National Aquarium. “But the mass grew back and we are here to have it removed by laser surgery.” Chick Weisse, V’98, lecturer in surgery, enjoys working with marine animals and has performed numerous surgeries on fish. The little seahorse was his first patient of the Hippocampus variety. The animal was anesthetized in water; it took about five minutes for it to become unconscious. Then it was removed from the water and placed on the table, and Dr. Poll carefully syringed water over the gills while Dr. Weisse used the tiny laser probe to remove the tumor. He then used the laser to ablate the tumor bed in the hope of removing any remaining cancer cells that could regrow. “Seahorses have a bony layer within the skin, called osteoderm, so one can’t just cut away the tumor without leaving a large defect,” said Dr. Weisse. “The laser removed the layer of cancer cells while sealing the blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics.” The surgery lasted only minutes, and that same day, the Hippocampus reidi was safely back in her tank at the National Aquarium, swimming around. In lay language she is called a longsnout seahorse, and her natural home is the Western Atlantic. Source: www.vet.upenn.edu/.../59/seahorse_surgery.html __________________ -Activated my first freshwater tank Nov 25/07 -Emperor 280 biowheel filter -Visi-Therm 100 Watt Heater -Whisper 60 Air Pump (Tetra) 38G/144.4L {Size 36 x 13 x 20} 9 Cherry Barbs (6 Female, 3 Male) 6 Cardinal Tetra 5 Rummy Nose Tetra 3 Black Skirt Tetra 2 Head and Tail Tetra 2 Otocinclus Affinis suckermouth

03-28-2008, 08:23 AM	#3
Knight~Ryder Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Age: 26 Posts: 208	Is there really a point in making your 5th post a negative one? I personally think it's quite neat how that can be done. I am hoping other people can share their experiences with thier fish, so we can all learn even more. I love learning something new everyday. __________________ -Activated my first freshwater tank Nov 25/07 -Emperor 280 biowheel filter -Visi-Therm 100 Watt Heater -Whisper 60 Air Pump (Tetra) 38G/144.4L {Size 36 x 13 x 20} 9 Cherry Barbs (6 Female, 3 Male) 6 Cardinal Tetra 5 Rummy Nose Tetra 3 Black Skirt Tetra 2 Head and Tail Tetra 2 Otocinclus Affinis suckermouth

03-28-2008, 10:55 AM	#6
sarahbellum Fishy Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Penn Valley, CA Posts: 81	This story is really cool. I'm glad they didn't just go "oh, it has a problem, let it go". They took the time and the money and saved a seahorse. Sometimes, I run across stuff on here where I'm like, "Really? You HAD to post that" but I don't make a negative comment. I just skip it when it pops up in the updates section. If you asked a question or a comment that someone who has more experience then said "DUH!" to, you wouldn't want them to go, "Why did you ask that? Thats a stupid question!". __________________ Sarahbellum 80G: Mixed Cichlid Tank 29G: 1 Angel Fish 3 Corydoras 1 Bushynose Pleco 2 Bolivian Rams 5.5G: 1 Betta named Bubbles Not in a fish tank: 1 Chihuahua/Terrier Mix named Lady 1 Chihuahua named Preston

03-28-2008, 11:38 AM	#7
CollegeReefer Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Stevens Pont, Wisconsin Age: 22 Posts: 386	Very interesting thanks for posting! __________________ CollegeReefer

03-28-2008, 11:48 AM	#8
Madam Macaw Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Age: 36 Posts: 156	I agree. That is a very interesting post. Thank you. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 55 Gallon 6 Green Sailfin Mollies 3 Dalmation Mollies 2 Black Sailfin Mollies 1 pregnant Platinum Lyretail Molly 1 Red Wag Swordtails 3 Mickey Mouse Swordtails 6 False Network Cories 1 Gold Spot Pleco (L001/L022) 3 Snails 20 Gallon 6 Black Widow Tetras 2 Red Eyed Tetras 6 Glass Catfish 9 Cherry Shrimp 1 Butterfly Pleco (L168) 2 Snails 10 Gallon 2 clown plecos (L104/L162) 25-30 Red Swordtail fry 35-40 Dalmation Molly fry 6 Platinum Molly fry

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03-28-2008, 08:09 AM	#2
PowerJuice Grasshopper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: chicago Age: 36 Posts: 20	is there realy a piont to posting this?

03-28-2008, 08:26 AM	#4
PowerJuice Grasshopper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: chicago Age: 36 Posts: 20	whatever floats your boat...

03-28-2008, 09:40 AM	#5
Ice Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Age: 43 Posts: 531	Wow ! That's cool ! It's always good to hear stuff like this. Interesting story.

03-28-2008, 02:54 PM	#9
flamingo One Word: Croutons. Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Wisconsin Age: 17 Posts: 1,899	I read this about a year ago, if that even, but it's still interesting... even more so since it's "just a common reidi." A common species you can easily 'replace' if needed. __________________ If you put "u" instead of typing out the actual, shocking, three letter word... i'm not going to read your ramblings. I'm so behind it's not even funny.

03-28-2008, 04:47 PM	#11
PowerJuice Grasshopper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: chicago Age: 36 Posts: 20	sorry bad mood today my fiji puffer jumped out today and down the heater vent i cant reach him but i can just barely see him ughi even tryed using a long clamp like this hes doen there 5-7 feet >.> right before the vent turnes a different direction I CANT IMAGINE WHY ITS OPEN

03-29-2008, 08:10 PM	#12
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,312	This sounds weird and he might not survive it BUT...try a vacuum cleaner with a narrow attachment. I heard of someone doing this with a hamster that went down the drain, and it was okay, it just got sucked up against the vacuum attachment. At any rate, it's probably dead by now :\ so your best bet is to get it OUT of the heating system. __________________ current setup: 5.5 gallon low-light planted tank -nothing....thinking a mini-community. for reference: my name is Julie

04-01-2008, 02:44 PM	#13
PowerJuice Grasshopper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: chicago Age: 36 Posts: 20	actually i thought of the vaccum cleaner idea ( before you posted ) and i got him out alive ^_^ hes a little sickly right now ( not to much movement ) but im sure he' ll be fine... ( i hope )

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