1053. Follow up on the Beijing hamster owner

E-MAIL FROM DR SING DATED AUG 22, 2012 to the Beijing hamster owner
7.39 am, first floor, reception lobby, Hotel Panorama, Hong Kong

 

As each vet has his or her own professional opinion on how to treat a hamster case, it is best you do not impose my advices onto your vet as he or she may be most unhappy.

From my knowledge with the younger vets trained overseas, usually in Australia, I note that the vets have been trained to take a biopsy of the tumour first, send to the laboratory to check whether it is cancerous or not. Then they will advise further. Unfortunately, the lab results may take over 7-14 days. But it can take one day, depending on the laboratory. The owner may also procrastinate. Soon, the tumour, if malignant, grows fast and becomes inoperable in a small creature, like the dwarf hamster's subcutaneous tumour, as that was probably present in your hamster.

My approach is to take out the tumour early, send to the laboratory for histopathology after surgical removal. As each vet has his or her own idea on what to do, the fate of a pet depends on the action of the vet consulted and on the pro-activeness and knowledge of the owner.

I am presently in Hong Kong and may not reply to you. My advice is still to be pro-active to seek a vet who is comfortable with hamster anaesthesia and surgery. Best wishes.

On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 3:14 PM, Y@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Dr Sing,

Thank you very much for your time to reply. I will discuss this with the vet accordingly.

I'm very sorry I will have to trouble you with another question for my other hamster Yoda. He is also 2+ years old, currently on Itraconazole treating a recurring fungal infection (ringworm).

I noticed he had a soft moveable lump underneath (from chest to flank) him early this week and yesterday we went to the vet. The lump wasn't noticeable 2 weeks ago.

Attached is the pics of him, you can see part of the lump. Unfortunately this is the best shot I could get of him.

My hamster went under isofluorane over his head for almost 4-5 mins (I think this was too much?) and the vet aspirate very very little liquid from the lump. It is not blood.

The samples was sent to the lab but it will take about 10 days before we know what it is.

I'm afraid with the lump will be much bigger by then and the risk to remove it is higher.

Is there an absolute need to wait for the results from the lab before surgery? Or can we do an xray or ultrasound to determine more?

Would you please be so kind to advise me. I will present your reply to my vet and I'm desperate to cure Yoda's condition before it gets worse.

Appreciate your reply, thank you again.

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------ Original Message ------
From: "Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>
To: "Y@gmail.com>
Cc: "Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>;"daniel sing" <singdaniel@gmail.com>
Sent: 21/8/2012 5:10:25 AM
Subject: Re: Hamster wart

The risk of anaesthesia is high in the older dwarf hamster compared to a younger one.

Much depends on the experience of the hamster vet and the method of anaesthesia being used. If the vet uses isoflurane gas, it depends on the methods used, based on size of tumour and time taken to operate and/or stitch up. Therefore it is hard to let you know how much and how long.

In my experience, this tumour, if it has a stalk, will take 2 seconds to cut it off and therefore anaesthesia by 5% isoflurane gas in a container and not using gas mask is around <60 an="an" anaesthesia.="anaesthesia." br="br" close="close" depth="depth" do.="do." experienced="experienced" fixed="fixed" formula.="formula." hamster="hamster" is="is" know="know" no="no" observation="observation" of="of" on="on" seconds="seconds" the="the" there="there" to="to" vet="vet" what="what" will="will" with="with">

On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 3:32 PM, Y@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Dr Sing

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I will approach a vet who can help me with my hamster's toe.

You mentioned that the high risk lies with the anaesthesia, how much/long of those can be applied to ensure that it will not harm my hamster?

Again, thanks very much!

 

------ Original Message ------
From: "Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>
To: "@gmail.com>
Cc: "daniel sing" <singdaniel@gmail.com>;"Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>
Sent: 18/8/2012 6:46:18 AM
Subject: Re: Hamster wart

Thank you for your e-mail.
Surgical excision under anaesthesia is the solution.

1. If there is a stalk attached to the skin, the vet will just cut off the stalk, apply potassium permanganate powder to control the bleeding or apply pressure bandage.
2. If there is no stalk, there will be a big piece of skin cut off, exposing the bone, muscles, ligaments and tendons. If the wound is <5mm after="after" be="be" br="br" cared="cared" for="for" infection.="infection." it="it" needs="needs" prevent="prevent" surgery="surgery" to="to" well="well">3. If there is no stalk and the tumour has invaded deep into the bones, then amputation of the 5th digit + tumour will be the solution. 6/0 stitching may be needed to close the skin wound.
4. Electro-excision, using electricity is an excellent procedure for this case. Electro- excision controls the bleeding.

Overall, the surgery is low risk and is done in 2 seconds. The anaesthesia is the high risk in old hamsters. The bleeding in this surgery usually does not kill the hamster as the bleeding can be controlled. You may need to locate a vet who is comfortable in performing hamster surgery.

Please let me know the good news after surgery.

On Sat, Aug 18, 2012 at 2:12 AM, Y.com> wrote:

Hello Dr Sing,

Thank you for sharing priceless info regarding hamster's condition on the website. I found you on this site and I'm relieved to know that there is a possibility to address the condition.(http://www.bekindtopets.com/animals/20090122Hamster_Roborovski_Wounds_Warts_ToaPayohVets.htm).

I'm writing from Beijing and I seek some advise regarding a growth on my hamster which I now know is called a wart. My hamster is 2+ years old and he had this wart growing on the side of his toe since January this year. Occasionally there is pimple-like 'head' that pokes up, and I have tried to extracted it myself. We also did consulted a vet and she content is skin cells & sebum related.

The wart seemed to have steadied in size, but the pimple-like thing would come back after we extracted it.

I've attached a picture of the wart, and the size of it. Please have a look.

I would like to know if its possible to surgically have this removed safely - cut off at wart stalk?

Will there be a lot of bleeding and is it high risks?

I understand that we have to put him under gas isofluorane.

I appreciate your time and advise, and look forward to hear from you regarding this matter as I will talk to my local vet to have this administered.

I go to an international vet, but hamsters are not common patients here. So I would like to be informed and perhaps refer my local vet to your website for references as well.

Thank you in advance and I really hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,

Y M