Tumor removal at 19 months old

[Ktina]

My lil miss Leela has a large tumor on her side. Because of her age, I thought that I wouldn't opt to get it removed. But she still has so much life in her, and now I am thinking that I should have it removed. Especially since I am thinking of getting her two new friends (because he current cage mate is getting PTS probably today, which I will post about later ). She is healthy, and has never had any health problems. Here is a pictur of her tumor:

Has anyone had a tumor removed on an older ratty? How did it go? How long did the rat live after? Sorry, I've never had a tumor removed before, the only time I've had a rat go under for surgery was when Scabbers was neutered. So any advice would be great.

 

[jorats]

That poor sweetie... I've had several surgeries done on older rats. I've had a tumor removed on a 37 months old rat, he lived another 2 months after. You have to remember for rats, 2 months is a long time.
We had a rat at 24 months old undergo a leg amputation, he lived to be 33 months.
Also, have a good talk with your vet and see what he/she feels about it and how much confidence they have in having it removed. You might want to consider a spay at the same time, it could greatly reduce her chance at developing more mammary tumors. I've had several girls spayed at over 20 months old. They went on to live tumor free to over 2.5 years old.

 

[mamarat]

If your girl is healthy I would definitely have it removed. Like Jo said to the ratties, a couple of months is a long time. Good luck with your sweetie, she's beautiful.

 

[Debbie]

If you have a vet that is very experienced with tumor removals and rats' special needs during surgery, then you have a lot going for you right there. Our vets are very experienced and skilled.....so we go by the overall health of the rat. If they are doing well otherwise, definitely worth it to get the tumor off. The sooner the better though, as the bigger the tumor, the longer the surgery.

I recently pet sat for one of my friends. Her 30 month old Kalila underwent and emergency spay (where she had an infection and tumor growing in there). She had several other tumors (though slow growing), cataracts and losing the use of her back legs. I personally didn't know if she'd make it, but surgery was not my decision as she wasn't my rat. I was just so happy that Kalila came through her spay with flying colors, recooped fast and is still doing fantastic.

Rats are very resilliant too. You might look at your girl and ask yourself "if I don't do anything, how long before this tumor could affect her quality of life" (by the looks of the pics, could be soon if the tumor ulcerates, or could be another few months) "if I do the surgery....it could buy her many many more months" (but you should always consider the risks of anesthesia too.

Truthfully, about 18 months is the average for tumors to start growing on females. I do not consider that too old at all, unless the rattie has heart or respiratory issues to consider.

hope that helps.

 

[dubchick]

if i was given a second chance to go back a couple months ago and have rainas tumor removed (she is two years old)... i would do it in a heart beat.. it grew so fast, and by the time we made the decision to have it removed, it was too late. if i have another rat that has a tumor again, we will be making an apointment asap for a removal.. even if our rat is 2 years old. (unless there is other issues that prevent being able to have the surgery done) . but thats just us. :nod: :cry: