Heroic vet saves family's 17-year-old goldfish with groundbreaking operation

A heroic vet miracously saved a family's goldfish by carrying out a "first of its kind" procedure after the pet was struck by a tumour.

Emer O'Reilly, who works at MyVet in Lucan, Co Dublin, Ireland, operated on 17-year-old Merlin and carefully cut out the tumour. His owner, Eileen Lynch, rushed him to the after he struggled to eat. She said a lump had also formed on his left eye.

The small, three-inch was given a general anaesthetic before the operation. Emer explained it was the first time that a fish had been put to sleep. Speaking about the landmark surgery, she said: "Merlin's concerned owner feared he would have to be put to sleep but we mentioned the option of trying to remove the growth, which we suspected was a tumour.

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"The surgery itself was quite simple but this was our first case of administering a general anaesthetic on a fish, which was certainly challenging. The tricky part was getting Merlin to the correct plane of anaesthesia by moving him into different water baths with different levels of anaesthetic added to the water. This careful approach finally helped Merlin fall asleep as the anaesthetised water passed over his ."

"The other issue was that the tumour covered quite a large area of attachment to the skin, so we were not able to remove it entirely. This means it is likely to eventually grow back but his owners are delighted didn't have to be put to sleep and is now able to eat normally again."

Merlin lives with owner Eileen Lynch in Castlebar and is loved by her children and grandchildren, . Granddaughter Siobhan Lynch said: "He has been our pet for so long it just wouldn't feel right to not do anything to try to help him. We are all so thankful for their help and care. is much happier now that he can see properly again."