unsolved

Question
Hi, one of my closest friends (a rat named Guinevere) had 2 big tumors removed during one surgery in the summer, when she was about a year old. I was very worried, since they took out 2 at once, but she did fine and had no problems. About a month ago I noticed a small tumor coming in so I made an appointment (with my exotics certified vet) to have it removed before it got too big. Now this vet has removed tumors from many of my rats, and we've never had a problem with any of them. Guinevere was a very healthy rat, never had a sneeze or any problems at all. I brought her in on new years eve during the day for her surgery. They called to say the surgery went well, she had no excessive bleeding and she recovered great from anesthesia. 2 hours later, they called to say that she had died. She had no problems apparently, they check the patients every few minutes. Every time they checked her she was fine and normal, and then one time they checked her and she wasn't moving. She was only about a year and a half old, and like I said, always in amazingly good health. I just can't get over this though. I have cried EVERY SINGLE day since this happened. I spoke with a "friend" of mine who had had many many pet rats over the years and she told me it was my fault, and if I hadn't brought her to have her tumor removed she'd still be alive, and that she never has her rat's tumors removed (I won't be speaking to that "friend" anymore). I have always had my rat's tumors removed, and often they actually haven't even come back. I have never had any problems with having the tumors removed, the doctors I go to are wonderful. I feel that if you have a pet it's yoru responsibility to take care of them, and that includes having a tumor removed. What kills me is the 2 tumors she had removed over the summer were big, and this was just one little tiny one. And to make it one bit worse, I had asked to have it biopsied and it was benign, so I feel overwhelmed by guilt and I honestly don't think I will ever get over losing such a good friend in that way. The doctor thinks it was a heart attack, since they can't find any other reason. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever heard of this happening? I just thought she'd die an old lady at the ripe age of like, 4, and be able to be home in my arms. It hurts so much that I wasn't able to be there for her, and that in my mind, it's largely my fault. Don't you think that tumors in healthy rats should be removed before they get too big?
Sorry for writing so much, I'm just so devestated.

Answer
I am so sorry this happened.  Sometimes it does, no matter how skilled the vet is or how equipped they are to handle situations like emergencies etc...  it just happens. You could have a necropsy done to find out what went wrong though, esp if you did not have any blood work done prior to surgery.

I believe in removing the tumors from the girls way before they become to large because this makes surgery more dangerous for the rat and harder for the Vet to because he has to deal with vascular tumors that have tapped into the rats blood supply. When tumors are allowed to get large, they start to rob the rat of nutrients she needs to sustain her vital organs, so the rat starts losing weight and may be weaker for surgery when the tumors are larger. A good vet will suggest removing them before the are too big.  Your friend is wrong by suggesting your rat would still be alive if her tumors remained.  Rats CANNOT live with tumors for long, even if they are benign, just for the reasons I stated above. The rat loses weight and wastes away despite how much she eats. Eventually the tumor loses its blood supply,the tissue becomes necrotic and begins to abscess internally, often the rat dies from sepsis or heart failure from the poison going through her body.  The tumor also causes alot of discomfort it it gets too big and the rat cant walk well or move around properly. A benign tumor can still be invasive, with tissue branching off in side, wrapping around muscle and tissue inside the rats body which can also cause her to lose the use of her paws, both front or back . Its the humane thing to do when you remove the tumors. However, these tumors may return over and over again. Sometimes they dont, but more times they do, and you can only have so many surgeries before you have to decide when enough is enough. A good friend of mine just had a second surgery on her little girl and she is feeling guilty because the recover seems harder the second time.  She said next one that grows, she wont remove and will just let things take its course, and I respect that. We are hoping no more come but unfortunately it isnt always so easy to get away from these things once they start forming.  The only real way to avoid any of this or at least have a better chance of avoiding mammary tumors is to spay the female young, between 3 and 5 months of age. You can read more about tumors here on my website so you can understand more about them and also so you dont feel so guilty for the surgery. you did the right thing.


All about tumors:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/allabouttumors.htm


Safety and surgery:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/surgerysafteyrisks.htm


You asked if I have seen this or have this happen to my rats?
No, I never lost a rat during surgery or soon after, not with the exotic vet I have now, that is.  howevver, years back I lost a really sweet boy when he was neutered because the vet lied to me and said she was an exotic vet, but she was simply a vet that saw exotics and as you know thats a huge difference.

As long as your vet did everything by the book, from having the rats vital signs monitored to keeping her body warm during and after sugery which requires having her in an temperature controlled incubator that is heated to help her body temp rise again since they lose it during anesthesia, and she was healthy before the surgery and the vet was aware of any bleeding that went on during surgery, if any, and addressed the issue right away so she would not bleed out later, i can go on and on, so if all went according to the book, you can just chalk it up to the fact her body, for whatever reason, could not handle surgery.  These things happen though and yes, they have happened to other people I know and it was never the fault of the vet. It wasnt anyones fault, but just a very sad and unfortunate thing. It could have been a heart attack or it could have been her liver was not able to handle the anesthesia, which is why I asked if she had blood work before surgery to test her organ functions etc...

Once again, please dont feel guilty. you did the right thing to have it removed. They cannot live with these tumors and live comfortably for very long any how. Trust me. Look at the photos of the rats that had huge tumors and you will not believe how nasty and large they can get.  One is the size of an orange, bigger than the little rat herself.

I hope this makes you feel better....you are not to blame. These things are not common, but they do happen, unfortunately.