A "Be Kind To Pets"
Video Production".
Script is as
follows:
TUMOURS IN DWARF
HAMSTERS -
A BOXING-GLOVED LEFT
HAND
HOOK
What will you do if
you need to have
your left hand cut
off to save your
life?
(Video of a person
with two hands
holding things and
eating).
What will you do if
your older dwarf
hamster need to have
her left hand cut
off?
(Video of patient:
2-year-old female
dwarf hamster with a
massive left hand
tumour. Weight 22 g.
Active and eating
when hand-fed. )
INTRODUCTION
HAMSTER HEALTH
CLINICAL RESEARCH
Saturday, Jun 22,
2013. Toa Payoh
Vets, Singapore
BE
KIND TO PETS IMAGE
Singapore suffers
from haze since 4
days ago (video of
haze affecting the
morning sun at Toa
Payoh area). Most
pet owners prefer
not to visit the
vets to vaccinate
their pets. The haze
was due to the
burning of forests
in Sumatra.
Flames and smoke are
fanned by winds from
the province of Riau
in Sumatra to
Singapore. Some
burning plantations
are vast and larger
than a few towns.
Hot spots in Sumatra
and Kalimantan are
numerous and the
fires cannot be
easily doused by
water. A spike in
respiratory
illnesses, sore eyes
and throat are
present in the
residents of
Singapore. The air
pollutants increased
in the last 2 days
such that the
outlines of
buildings could not
be seen clearly.
(video).
All face masks at
pharmacies were sold
out. Face masks
retail from $1.80 to
$3.60/mask but
online sites are
selling at $25.00.
(Video of
Singaporeans wearing
masks).
So,
on this hazy
Saturday morning
(video of haze), I
expected no
clientele.
However, a mother
and daughter from
Woodlands brought in
a female dwarf
hamster to Toa Payoh
Vets. She has a
large firm globular
growth on her left
fore paw or left
hand (images). As if
she is wearing a
boxing glove.
MIDDLE
"How long has the
growth been
present?" I asked
the teenaged girl.
"Around a week," she
said.
"It feels hard and
is likely to be a
fast-growing tumour
rather than an
infected abscess," I
held the hamster by
the scruff of her
neck and felt this
lump. "The only
treatment is surgery
to remove this lump.
Since it has spread
into 100% of the
left fore paw, I
will need to
amputate the paw
before the tumour
spreads further to
the forearm."
INFORMED CONSENT
1. NO OPERATION.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
|
Amputation
saves the
hamster's
life. Without
amputation,
the hamster
keeps gnawing
her swollen
left fore paw
which is
burdensome and
painful. Soon
infection sets
in and the
bacteria will
spread to
other parts of
the body. The
hamster
becomes ill
and toxic and
will not eat.
She will then
die a painful
death.
Amputation
saves her
life. |
2.
OPERATION -
ANAESTHETIC RISKS,
BLEEDING & INFECTION
The
anaesthetic
risk of dying
on the
operating
table is
higher in old
hamsters.
However, this
hamster is
active and
eating and
therefore, I
assess that
the risk is
minimal.
Bleeding after
amputation can
be controlled
by bandaging.
Infection can
be prevented
by
antibiotics.
"Take some
time to think
whether you
want surgery
or not." I
asked the
mother and
daughter to
wait at the
waiting room
while I
handled
another case.
IMPACT OF
SURGERY
"Your hamster
will not be
able to hold
seeds with
both paws to
eat if the
left front paw
is amputated,"
I said. "Will
this be OK
with you. In
any case, she
is not able to
grasp the
seeds. How
does she eat?"
"I feed her by
hand
nowadays," the
slim teenaged
girl said.
POST-OP
POSSIBILITIES
With the
removal of the
tumour, the
gentle
small-sized
dwarf hamster
may adapt and
be able to
grasp smaller
seeds and feed
herself.
The mother and
daughter
accepted my
advice to
perform
surgery. |
CONCLUSION
Surgery was done
under isoflurane gas
anaesthesia. The
fore paw with the
massive tumour was
amputated. Video of
hamster after
surgery. The hamster
goes home (Video and
images). It is kind
of the owners to
take action to get
the dwarf hamster
treated. In the
past, baby-boomer
generation owners
will let the
hamsters die as the
cost of a new
hamster is much
lower than
veterinary fees for
an operation.
P.S
As I record this
case at home on
Sunday June 23,
2013, 8 am,
the 3-hour PSI
(Pollutants Standard
Index) is 106
while the 24-hour
PSI is 120 - 136.
The air is much
fresher now. Just 2
days ago, the PSI
was over 400 and the
outlines of
buildings could not
be seen clearly. The
plantation fires are
said to be due to
large commercial
companies burning
forests to get the
cleared land for
their oil palm
business.
CREDITS
& MUSIC & SINGAPORE
DOWNTOWN SCENE
TOA
PAYOH VETS
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