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ELECTRO-SURGERY
IN A DWARF HAMSTER
Dr Sing Kong Yuen,
BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
First written: Dec 11, 2009.
Updated: Jan 10, 2010 |
 toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0003
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1.
E-MAIL TO DR SING
Jan 8, 2010
Subject: Enquiries on Dwarf
Hamster - Ear Irritation
Dear
Doctor Sing,
Happy New Year to you & I hope
this email finds you well...
I would like to seek your advice
on one of my dwarf hamster.
She's currently 1.5yrs old and
had been in good health all
these while.. Just 2 days ago, i
notice that she is excessively
scratching her right ear & it
became obvious that the outer
ear area turns red and slightly
sore...
Few months ago, my other male
dwarf hamster (Name given) had
ear infection as the bathing
sand and bedding went into his
ear. He recovered after treated
by you in Oct 2009. (Dr Sing
anaesthesized the hamster and
his little ears were irrigated
to flush out the sand).
I've since then stopped all
bathing sand and switched to
towel as bedding for all my
hamster. I rule out the
possibility of mites or mange as
their cage are kept clean and i
change their towel twice a day.
I wonder if it helps if i were
to purchase from your clinic the
same medicines (pink & white
colour to stop itchiness and
prevent inflammation if i
remembered correctly) to treat
this hamster.
I've enclosed pictures of my
hamster and I hope the above
information is useful.
Looking forward to hearing from
you soon.
Thank you so much & wishing you
a good weekend ahead :D
Best regards,
Jane |
2.
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING
BASED ON PICTURES EMAILED
TO DR SING
Jan 9, 2010
It is best to
examine the hamster as
e-mail pictures are
not clear.
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The lady brought her
hamster for
examination. The owner
accepted my advice to
excise the inflamed
ear growths/tumour.
The hamster went home
on the second day to
save the owner
veterinary costs of
hospitalisation. The
owner's post-operation care
is important.
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The dwarf hamster had
electro-incision to
cut off the 2 growths
as shown below: |
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Watery liquid and black
particles inside the
ear canal were exposed
during surgery to
remove the lump
outside the ear canal.
Were they remnants of
bathing sand? I don't
know. |
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A big blood clot
covers the excised ear
area. |
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3.
E-MAIL TO DR SING
Jan 15, 2010
Subject: RE: For Doctor Sing
(Enquiries on Dwarf Hamster -
Ear Irritation)
Hi Doctor Sing,
It's
been 5 days since i brought my
hamster back and have fed her
with the required medication on
a daily basis. She's eating &
exercising normally and looking
at her ear, the little wound has
dried up but she's rather
sensitive whenever i tried to
clean or remove the layer of
dried skin which is in dark red
or black color.
Just to check if i can leave it
alone, will the dried layer
automatically drop off by itself
or will there be a likelihood
that she may accidentally push
it further into her ear?
Thank you.
Regards,
Jane |
4.
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING
Jan 16, 2010
I just returned from
overseas. The blood clot
is the wound left over
when the tumour/swelling
in the lateral canal of
the ear was removed. It
will dry up later and
replaced by new skin.
Remove it slowly. Remove
bit by bit with the
smallest cotton bud
(dipped in warm water). It
is hard to say whether the
clot will cause a problem,
but I don't think it will. |
P.S
2 hours after my e-mail
reply, the owner phoned to
say that the hamster started
to scratch her ears. What to
do?
In such cases, I asked her
to hospitalise the hamster
at my Surgery. Ear
irritation can be
difficult to treat in
dwarf hamsters as they are
such small ears compared
to canine and feline ears.
So, it is not surprising
that most hamster owners
can't manage
post-operation. The
hamster was warded and the
blood clotted wound in the
right ear was nursed daily
for a few days. The
hamster went home and the
owner continued treatment.
On Jan 23, 2010, she
e-mailed me good news and
a picture. |
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5.
E-MAIL TO DR SING
Jan 23, 2010
Hi Doctor Sing,
 I've
brought my hamster for
treatment of her
ear infection & outer
growth on 10 Jan...
She had smoothly completed her
1wk course of medication and
im pleased to share wif you
her latest picture, recovering
well :D
Tks again..
Regards,
Jane
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