Australian vets have successfully removed a life-threatening tumour from the brain of a goldfish in a 45-minute-long 'high-risk' operation.
The 10-year-old fish, called George, is now expected to live for another 20 years.
"George had a quite large tumour on the top of his head that was growing slowly, and it was beginning to affect his quality of life," said Dr Tristan Rich, from the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, who carried out the operation.
George's owner, from Melbourne, was given the choice between an operation or having the fish put to sleep. She decided to have the pet operated upon.
The fish was put under general anaesthetic for the USD 200 procedure, according to 'BBC News'.
The fish was kept alive by pumping oxygenated pond water through its gills and Rich described the operation as "fiddly".
Rich told Melbourne's 3AW radio station that the fish was now "up and about and swimming around".
