FINAL SCRIPT BY DR SING KONG YUEN
Hook:
“A few weeks ago, this lump was only as small as a pea,” Mrs Tan place her 1-year-old Syrian hamster with a large facial mass on my consultation table. "I consulted my vet who lives down the road. He did not advise surgery as he does not do surgery of the hamster. I waited for some weeks but today, the facial lump is the size of his head and he has trouble eating. I surfed the internet and found Toa Payoh Vets." 
She had gone to the vet nearby but the vet did not perform hamster surgery.
In the span of a few weeks, the small lump had become a heavy facial mass!
The lump was now as large as a golf ball- WRITE DIALOGUE. NOTE GOLF BALL IS MUCH BIGGER. HAVE YOU SEEN ONE? SHOW ME THE FOOTAGE OF THE HOOK OF OTHER HAMSTERS IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE REAL CASE STUDY.
This is a be kind to pets educational video sponsored by Toa Payoh Vets
This video contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised. SHOW ME THE TWO IMAGES YOU PROPOSE TO USE.
2.
Intro:
Many people in Singapore keep hamsters as pets as they take up little space.
SHOW ME THE IMAGE OF SINGAPORE APARTMENT YOU PROPOSE TO USE. A hamster's life span is around 2.5 to 3 years. Lumps on the face may appear at one year of age as in this Syrian hamster. Lumps can be benign or malignant tumours. This hamster's facial lump has grown rapidly within a few weeks and may or may not be cancerous. Surgical removal is the treatment of choice now as he can't live a normal life enjoying his sunflower seeds (SHOW IMAGES OF FOOD SEEDS ETC)..
Lumps are a common problem in hamsters.
A lump on your hamster could be one of several things.
The lump may be a tumour, which is an abnormal mass of tissue.
If the tumour has been rapidly growing in size, it’s likely to be cancerous.
This hamster’s lump was malignant as it grew in size so quickly.
"Surgery to cut off the facial mass is the treatment of choice," I said. "It may already become cancerous and may recur. Your hamster may die on the operating table due to reactions to the anaesthetic. Bleeding to death may occur. Please take a seat in the waiting room to think what you want to do."
ILLUSTRATION OF MRS TAN WORRIED AS SHE HELD HER HAMSTER IN THE WAITING ROOM. .
Middle:
The vet would have to surgically remove the lump.
Such tumours are high risks as there will be profuse bleeding during removal.
The large blood vessels supplying nutrients to this tumour are difficult to find and ligate, unlike those of the dog and cat.
However, if the tumour was not excised, it would only grow bigger.
Knowing the risks, the owner decided that it was best to go forward with the surgery.
The hamster was sedated under gas anesthesia.
A scalpel was used to excise the lump from the hamster.
3. A gigantic FIRM tumour was removed UNDER ANAESTHESIA. The surgery was a success. HE was no longer weighed down by the massive lump.
4. CONCLUSION.
Conclusion:
Some vets don't operate on hamsters and may prescribe antibiotics and pain-killers.
Some advise to wait and see.
However, time is of the essence as some lumps are cancerous.
It is better to remove the lump earlier rather than later.
Hence, you may need to search for a hamster vet that does operations on hamsters.
For more information, you can call our clinic or visit our website at toapayohvets.com SHOULD HAVE SHOWN YOUR PROPOSED IMAGE.
SHOW THREE HAMSTER TUMOUR CASES - NOSE, BODY, LEG
DO NOT DO OTHER CASES OF TUMOURS. SHOW REPRESENTATIVE ONES. NOT GROSS IMAGES OF BLOOD OR POOR QUALITY IMAGES. SHOW 3 CASES WILL DO. THERE ARE MANY BUT YOU NEED TO LOOK FOR THEM. .
WRITE A NEW DRAFT CONCISELY
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DRAFT OF INTERNS SCRIPT
Here is the script for the hamster lump! Let me know what I need to change or add. Thank you!
Hook:
“A few weeks ago, this lump was only as small as a pea.”
The owner of this 1 year old Syrian hamster pointed to the lump on the hamster's cheek.
She had gone to the vet nearby but the vet did not perform hamster surgery.
In the span of a few weeks, the small lump had become a heavy facial mass!
The lump was now as large as a golf ball
This is a be kind to pets educational video sponsored by Toa Payoh Vets
This video contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.
Intro:
Many people in Singapore keep hamsters as pets as they take up little space.
Lumps are a common problem in hamsters.
A lump on your hamster could be one of several things.
The lump may be a tumour, which is an abnormal mass of tissue.
If the tumour has been rapidly growing in size, it’s likely to be cancerous.
This hamster’s lump was malignant as it grew in size so quickly.
Middle:
The vet would have to surgically remove the lump.
Such tumours are high risks as there will be profuse bleeding during removal.
The large blood vessels supplying nutrients to this tumour are difficult to find and ligate, unlike those of the dog and cat.
However, if the tumour was not excised, it would only grow bigger.
Knowing the risks, the owner decided that it was best to go forward with the surgery.
The hamster was sedated under gas anesthesia.
A scalpel was used to excise the lump from the hamster.
A gigantic white tumour was removed.
Afterwards, the opening was stitched close.
Fortunately, the surgery was a success and the hamster recovered well.
It was no longer weighed down by the massive lump.
It is often better to excise the entire lump to prevent such tumours from recurring.
Unfortunately, the cancer may have already spread by the time the first lump is removed.
In 2008, This two year old syrian hamster came in with a gigantic neck tumour.
“I noticed a pea-like lump on the neck 3 weeks ago and vet clinic.
Today the lump is more than 20x its original size!”
Surgical removal was the only treatment for this huge lump.
The large neck tumour on the hamsters left side was removed without any issue.
However, days later another fast-growing neck tumour on the right side appeared.
It was as large as the one excised from the left side of the neck.
The cancerous left neck tumour had spread to the right side.
No surgery was done.
The hamster was given palliative care by the owner.
Early removal of the tumour when it is smaller across may prevent the development of cancerous tumours.
Smaller tumours will also result in less bleeding during excision.
Thus, hamster owners are advised to seek a hamster vet to get any small tumours excised when they are much smaller.
A lump may also be an abscess.
An abscess is a pocket of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body.
They are most often caused by bacteria infection.
How do you know if the lump is an abscess?
The lump will be red and swollen. It will also be sensitive.
A soft abscess may also feel fluid-filled.
In 2008, a Hamster with recurrent swollen eyelids came into the clinic.
"Doc, I will go bankrupt if I continue consulting you," the young lady was worried. "This is the 3rd time in 2 months I have to bring my hamster to be treated."
There were subconjunctival abscesses on the hamster’s eyelids.
This abscess had already been drained twice before.
Under general anesthesia, the vet used a scalpel to cut the abscess.
Then, the pus was drained.
The whole process took around 5 minutes.
The hamster had to dig into a high feed bowl which is commonly used by Singapore hamster owners too.
Dr Sing suspected that the food debris from the hamster's mouth contaminated the water bowl.
The water had bacteria and since the hamster drank from the high water bowl, the bacteria got into his eyes and the eyelids.
Once the owner changed the water bowl to a water bottle, she happily reported that the abscesses did not recur.
Abscesses are more likely to form in dirty environments.
Recurrence is also more common if the environment is not clean.
Thus, the hamster’s cage should be kept clean to avoid bacterial infection.
Conclusion:
Some vets don't operate on hamsters and may prescribe antibiotics and pain-killers.
Some advise to wait and see.
However, time is of the essence as some lumps are cancerous.
It is better to remove the lump earlier rather than later.
Hence, you may need to search for a hamster vet that does operations on hamsters.
For more information, you can call our clinic or visit our website at toapayohvets.com
