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15kg tumour removed from goat’s udder

In a rare surgery, a team of veterinary experts rescued a goat’s life by removing a 15kg cancerous tumour from its udder. It, in fact, weighed a quarter of its entire body weight.

The surgery was done a couple of weeks ago by a medical team from the veterinary services section of the municipality’s Public Health Services Department.

Dr. Murad Basheer Mustafa, head of the Therapeutic Sub Unit, who led the team, told Khaleej Times that it was one of the rarest types of surgeries that the team at the municipality has ever done.

He said the goat belonged to an Emirati who has a farm in Dubai.

“The owner informed us about the goat which was found to be in severe fatigue when our doctor saw it in the field.”

After medical examinations, the team detected the presence of a cancerous tumour in advanced stages inside the udder which led to its swelling and had a negative impact on the movement and health of the animal, which only weighed about 60kg. “The owner was not very keen on the surgery. If we couldn’t help it, the goat would have had to be euthanised. Since we are against euthanasia, we requested the owner to give us a chance to rescue the goat by doing this surgery,” said Dr. Mustafa.

Veterinary services section head Hashim Al Awadhi said surgery is generally considered as a treatment of last resort, in cases where medical prescription was not possible.

“It took about two hours to get rid of the tumour and ensure the safety of the surrounding area from any symptoms of infections. (The) animal was placed under observation for continuous follow up after surgery until discharging from the clinic,” said Al Awadhi.

Dr. Mustafa said the goat was doing well even after it was discharged. “It had completely healed within a week.”

According to Al Awadhi, the veterinary clinic undertakes many treatments and surgeries for animals every year.

In the first quarter of 2013, he said, the clinic successfully completed 74 large surgeries, 160 small surgeries in addition to five rare operations.— sajila@khaleejtimes.com