The life-saving hernia operation performed on exotic fish who is 'almost family'

A fish has had a bizarre life-saving operation after developing a hernia.

Carla the 10-inch-long angelfish was laid out on an operating table while a vet and two assistants carried out the unusual surgery.

After being anaesthetised, the exotic fish had a tube placed in her mouth and water pumped through her body and out her gills to enable her to breathe.

Vet Sue Thornton repaired the stomach condition usually associated with humans using a scalpel, a needle and forceps during the £500 operation.

After being stitched up and brought round, the plucky fish was kept under close observation before she went on to make a full recovery.

Carla has been a resident at the London Aquarium for 10 years and staff decided to try to save her rather than put her to sleep when she developed the hernia.

James Oliver, deputy curator of the aquarium, said: 'Carla's problems began when this mystery swelling appeared on her side.


'Within a couple of days it burst and we feared for her survival when it left a large open wound and her internal organs exposed.'

Although her condition improved following a course of antibiotics, part of her stomach began to squeeze out of the wound.

James added: 'I guess it may seem a bit extreme to operate on a small fish but Carla has been with us for 10 years and she is almost family.

'The last thing we wanted to was to lose her.'

Vet Sue Thornton, of the International Zoo Veterinary Group, was called in to examine Carla and decided it was best to operate.

Carla was transferred to a smaller tank containing water with a carefully measured dose of anaesthetic which knocked her out.

She was then placed on an operating table while Sue carried out the 30-minute procedure.

Sue said: 'I must admit I didn't think the prognosis was very promising to begin with.

'As soon as she was asleep we moved her on to the operating surface and fed a tube from the tank into her mouth and kept her breathing by pumping the water over her gills.

'I then stitched the wound together as best I could. It was difficult because the wall tissue was very stiff, but I managed to close it.' After the surgery Carla was moved into clean water and within five minutes she came round.

The vet returned days later to remove the five stitches by which time Carla had returned to the attraction's Caribbean tropical fish display tank.

Sue added: 'I am as thrilled and delighted as James and his colleagues are that Carla is back to her best.'

Bubble-wrap baby: The tiny premature child kept alive with a little packaging

He was such a special delivery, and such incredibly fragile goods, that the usual sort of wrapping just wouldn't do.

The little mite swaddled in bubble wrap is Gregor Craig, who was born at just 24 weeks weighing a tiny 1lb 14oz - so small that his father's wedding ring fitted over his arm.

His chances of survival were slim, but doctors wanted to give him every chance.

So they wrapped him in the bubble wrap to keep him warm. Hospitals often use plastic wrap to help premature babies retain their body heat, but this was the first time the doctors in Kintyre, western Scotland, had used the bubble variety.

Luckily their efforts paid off and five months later he has finally been allowed home with his family in Argyll.

His mother, Martine Craig, 29, said: 'Gregor is one of life's true survivors. We can't believe that we have him home with us after his long fight for survival.

'We just couldn't believe that anything so tiny could possibly survive.'

The couple were thrilled when Mrs Craig became pregnant with Gregor as she had suffered a previous miscarriage.

Mrs Craig said: 'We were worried about losing this baby too, but at my ten-week scan I could feel some strong kicks coming from him.'

But then just a week after her 23-week scan Mrs Craig began suffering severe stomach pain. She went to Campbeltown hospital in Kintyre where doctors told her she was suffering from a urinary tract infection. A few hours later, the infection had triggered labour and the doctors couldn't stop it.

But amazingly Gregor survived the birth. Mrs Craig, whose husband Keith, 33, is a bus driver, said: 'I was allowed to see him two hours later when I had recovered from the birth.

'He looked so fragile lying there, but at least he was alive. His nappy came up to his neck and his tiny hand was the size of a penny piece. Doctors only gave Gregor a 10 per cent chance of survival but he kept hanging on.'

He was transferred by air ambulance to the Queen Mother Hospital in Glasgow to receive specialist care. After 24 hours, doctors said his chance of survival had increased and, on the fourth day, Mrs Craig was allowed to hold her son for the first time.

She said: 'He felt so light it was just like holding a ball of wool.

'His skin was completely see-through and he was covered in wires and tubes, keeping him alive. But every day that he hung on he gave us more hope.'

At ten weeks he had laser eye surgery to stop him going blind as the blood vessels in his eyes hadn't developed properly.

After 17 weeks in hospital, when Gregor had reached 7lb, he was allowed home. He has to have daily oxygen, and his parents had to learn how to resuscitate him if necessary.

Mrs Craig said: 'He is now a happy six-month-old and incredibly all he seems to have is some slight hearing problems. It's a small price to pay for having him here with us.'