Scared about tumors

Question
I would like this question to go to Sandra Todd

My female rat has a big tumor under her front paw. The vet said it is probably a mammary tumor and he can remove it easy. I am very scared because last time I had  this done, my rat died that night in my arms. The vet said they keep them over night for several days and do not send them home until they are sure there are no complications. What complications does he mean? This is not the same vet that did the last rat. Why do my rats get these tumors all the time?  My rat, Izzie, is about 2. The other vet said she was too old to have surgery and luckily I found this vet who said she is just fine to have surgery.
Please set my mind at ease. Your profile is pretty impressive. I am hoping your expertise can help me understand things to come. My vet is good, dont misunderstand me, but he is very busy and I hate to bombard him with all of these questions. I found this site and was thrilled to find someone that seemed to know exactly what they are talking about, referring to all of the detailed questions you have answered already. I have learned things I never knew before simply from reading your answers to people.
Now it is my turn to ask the questions. thank you for your time.
PS
Also,Izzy is from a feeder tank. She never has gotten any colds or illnesses that other rats have gotten so she is in good health. After reading the answers on here I see its not wise to purchase rats from pet stores. Can you tell me exactly what kinds of breeds of rats there are, the names of the breeds and what they look like and how I can find them? I would travel half a day in order to adopt rats that do not get these tumors. I like girls better then boys because pee on everything they walk on.

Answer
Hi Carrie

First of all, I am here to ease your mind. It sounds like you may have had a bad experience previously with your rat having a tumor removed and the surgeon that did it...but it also sounds like you found someone that is experienced with treating rats. For starters, your old vet said the rat was too old for surgery and that just isnt true. Surgery carries a risk regardless of age. It depends more on the health of the rat. Age is not a disease...its a number. If your rat is otherwise healthy, the risks are much lower. Also, you said your new vet wants to keep Izzie for several days after the surgery which seems to have you worried. Instead, you should count that as yet another good sign this vet knows the ropes when it comes to rats. Keeping her for several days will only benefit Izzie. This way, she can be checked on several times a day and observed for any complications, which can be bleeding,infection, having her pick the stitches...that kind of thing. If you take her home and something goes wrong, it will be up to YOU to have to watch her and know the warning signs of possible post op complications.

Some of the important facts to remember during surgery is this: Small animals lose body temp very quick when they are put under a general anesthesia. They need to be provided warmth during surgery by means of heating pads, or heated thermal beds and also thermal water blankets are used as well. This is what my vet uses on all of his small mammal patients (he is an exotics specialist)  Constant monitoring of the core temp is CRITICAL.  
Vital signs should also be monitored during surgery. It is important to note if your vet has the proper sized equipment there for small animals so that the machinary works at optimum levels.  If for some reason a substitute has to be used, be sure the vet can show you how it can take the place of the smaller scaled equipment that would and should normally be used. This includes monitoring systems for blood pressure, in which doppler units can be used for this, and a pulse oximeter that is used for small animals also works well with little mammals too.
Be sure your rat is going to be getting narcotic pain medication, not just an NSAID such as metacam. This is not good enough for pain post op.  Also, the stitches should never be pulled too tight because this causes discomfort and the rat will for sure pick and pull at them if they pinch and hurt.  Also, staples shoud not be used especially if the incision is on the abdomen. The skin is just too tender there and it tends to pull.


Also, when dealing with mammary tumors, unfortunately, they may return after surgery and sometimes they return as soon as the stitches heal. This is very very disappointing but keep in mind it is not the fault of the surgeon. Estrogen fuels these tumors.  Injections of a hormone called LUPRON once a month has had great success at keeping new tumors from growing back by reducing the production of estrogen.  It is not used widely by traditional vets but exotic vets are using it more and more in ferrets and rats too.

I hope this helped. Please let me know what else I can help you with and good luck to you and your little rattie friend.