Surgery

[oasisandbambi]

Hello. One of my rats has what I think might be a tumour on one of his sides near his arm. He is around 2/2.5 years old. I can't be sure but that's what his foster mum told me when we adopted him. He has chronic respiratory issues and is on maintenance meds but is doing well and seems healthy. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to remove it or if surgery would be too risky due to his age / respiratory condition?

 

[lilspaz68]

Since he's an older rat there can be a bit of a checklist before doing surgery.
1) how big is it?
2) is it growing fast or slowly?
3) is it impeding his ability to move?
4) can you get your fingers around it easily or is it attached to the wall of the body like a limpet? (tells us possible ease in removal)
5) how bad are his respiratory issues?

 

[oasisandbambi]

Thank you for replying!
It's not too big and it is not impending is ability to move. I wanted to take him in while it is still not too big because I guess it will be easier to remove while smaller.
It's not growing extremely fast but you can definitely notice it continuously growing.
I can get my fingers around it without an issue, I can hold it and move it lol. I was thinking of giving surgery a go because of how loose it feels, it feels like it would be easy to remove.
His on maintenance meds but he sounds just fine while on them.