oranda hood torn

Question
Hi, my goldfish oranda is about 2 1/2 years and part of it's hood is torn off when i was cleanin the tank. The fish still lives but the question is "will the hood ever grow back?" or/and "did i just shorten the fish's life span?"

Answer
Hi Grace;

Don't worry. Your fish will be fine. Just take precautions to be sure infection is avoided in the exposed tissue. It will probably grow back but it may never look the same again. Keep the water very clean and add aquarium salt and melafix to help the damaged tissue heal and regenerate.

The head growth or "wen" is not their "brain" or any other vital organ. It is simply a fleshy growth on top of the skull. As a matter of fact, when an oranda's wen becomes too large and begins to cover the mouth, eyes or gills, surgery is required to cut parts of it away so the fish can function normally and not suffocate or starve to death. The fish is put under anesthesia, surgery is performed and it continues on to live a pretty normal life. Sometimes surgery is required more than once depending on how much the wen grows back and in which direction. Here is a link to a page with a series of photos of this surgery by a veterinarian;

http://thegab.org/Articles/SurgeryWen.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins