Case Study: Spike the Betta Fish

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Spike the betta fish developed an abnormality of his right eye. The eye could not be repaired, and so his owner elected to have us remove it.  Eye problems like these are potentially painful in other species, so we assumed it would be the same for Spike.

**WARNING: Surgery Pictures Below!**

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In this picture we are injecting the tissue around the eye with a local anesthetic to prevent pain during and after the procedure.

The surgical procedure was challenging because of Spike's size, but went well.

Here is Spike a few hours later in the recovery tank. His owner says he is doing well at home, and is still able to swim about the enclosure and find his food. At 1 g, Spike is our smallest surgical patient ever.

Beta 1 wk post op

Spike came in for his post surgical recheck last week and his owner reports he is doing well. He is one lucky betta!

Did you know there is an organization dedicated just to medicine and surgery of fish? The American Association of Fish Veterinarians even holds their own annual conferences.  Learn more at: http://www.fishvets.org