118. Hamster tumour - Teaching the intern

"No anaesthesia?" the 2nd-year Murdoch Univ vet student asked me. All animals must be anaesthesized before surgery to avoid causing pain. This is generally observed by all vets as we don't want the animal to suffer.

However, in this case, the hamster was thin and not eating a lot. She had this glistening big skin tumour for some time and was not eating when brought to the Surgery. A dose of anaesthetic gas might kill her. Could not walk properly as the tumour irritated her. Probably could not sleep well too.



All clients want a live pet back after treatment. Death of a pet ruins a reputation of the veterinarian whatever the explanations.

In this case, the risk was extremely high. I noted a short stalk attached to the "tumour after 3 days of hospitalisation. A small scissor with curved blades snipped the tumour off in less than 1 second. The hamster would still be alive.

After snipping, blood splashed covering the whole area of more than 2 sq cm. What to do? This tumour had a large blood vessels connected to the skin. Would the hamster die? The young student held the hamster in the towel while I pressed a piece of tissue paper to stop the bleeding.

Bleeding is quite common in tumour removal of hamsters. They looked profuse and a lot because the hamster is so small, unlike a dog. It was not possible to clamp the stalk of the tumour as the tumour itself was small. The stalk was about 2 mm in width and because the tumour was no longer inflamed, I could see it.

If I had operated on day 1, I would not have had seen it. The hamster might not have survived as she was in a poor condition. Never operate on a pet that is not eating. Minimise the risk of death due to stress from surgery.

"The fastest way to wash away the blood was to flush the blood off under a tap. Just the area of surgery and not the whole hamster", I said to the student who had not spoken one word throughout the surgery. He must be wondering how I could wipe the messy bleeding as the hamster struggled to get free.

I don't know whether the young man learnt anything from this case as he was starting his second year. Did he learn something about the anatomy of the hamster's reproductive system.

"Is the tumour an enlarged clitoris?" I asked him.

"No," he said. He was correct. From close observation, it was a skin tumour very close to the vulval lips but definitely not the clitoris.

Is he the observant type I wondered? Why was the tumour located in relation to the vulva?

I asked him to illustrate the process of cutting the tumour as he saw it so that he could learnt something by participating in the whole procedure. He was a good illustrator.

The young man drew the tumour at the right side of the vulva.

"No," I said. "The location is not correct." I let him see the wound as he held the hamster. The location was now correct and he drew the illustration for me to include in the case study.






Hamsters are beloved family pets and the family was most happy to see her alive and without the tumour.