Koi Surgery

By Kathy Ferriss

If you can anesthetize your koi then you can do simple koi surgery Simple koi surgery can include using a sharp knife or scissors to trim off an infected or tumor riddled tail or fin. Once trimmed, the cut section can be painted with 7% mercurochrome or malachite green. But this article will focus on repairing a badly split fin! This was the fate of a beautiful Tancho Sanke named 'Buddy'. Buddy unfortunately incurred a split in one of his pectoral fins that separated the soft tissue between the rays clear down to the fin joint or knuckle as it is sometimes called. This is the point closest to the body of the koi where the fin is attached. When this happens to a pectoral fin (especially on a fish 14" or larger like Buddy) it takes a very very long time for the fin rays to reattach back together again, because the koi are constantly using their pectoral fins to swim. Also the fin is continually pushing water between the open rays and the split can get caught on other fish and plants in the pond. This really Is a simple fix if you have a few of the right tools and the belief that "I can do this"

Have ready:

  • Eugenol (oil of clove)
  • Suture (4-0 nonabsorbable) Available from Vets.
  • (3) Old Towels (Roll up and soak with pond water
  • (2) Old Hand Towels (Soak with pond water)
  • Injectable Antibiotic (optional)
  • Topical Antibiotic Cream or Hydrogen Per
  • Scissors
  • Forceps or clamp (Available at surplus stores) Used to hold needle while sewing!
  • 2 Tubs of pond water

    Set out your supplies on a table high enough to work comfortably. Place the two wet towels side by side, then place the third towel flat on top of the first two rolled towels. What you are making is a V-shape to hold the fish stable while you work on it. Place the Eugenol drops (6 drops per gallon) into one of the tubs with the intended victim, I mean patient!

    When you are sure the fish is out cold! You will know this, when the fish stops yelling or doesn't move when you pick it up. Putting a fish out with Eugenol shouldn't take more than 10 min. give or take!

    Place it on the wet towels so that the fin to be sewn is easy to work on and place the two remaining wet hand towels on either side of the body of the koi leaving the fin exposed. This will help keep the body of the koi from drying out. NOTE: If the fin has been split for several weeks, you will need to rough up the soft tissue on either side of the split edge because the tissue will have started to callus over and won't connect back together as quickly. It's the same as if you tried to get two sections of scar tissue to reattach, it doesn't! Take your first stitch about a 1/4" away from the joint (see drawing) being sure your needle loops around a fin ray (gristle) on both sides of the split in the fin. I prefer 4 or 5 separate knots instead of a running stitch (see drawing). Use a square knot and trim extra suture off with a scissors. Optional antibiotic injection can be administered now. Azactam, Baytril, Amikin, Gentamycin any of these would be fine.

    Administer topicals to both sides of the fin now. Hopefully, this whole procedure took less than 45 min. and your ready to resuscitate your fish in the 2nd tub full of fresh pond water. An airstone in the tub would be helpful. Move the fish back and forth allowing the oxygenated water to pass through the gills! Some fish come out of this very quickly (within 10 min.) while others have been known to go an hour, so don't panic if your fish is still snoozing after 5 to 10 minutes. You will usually notice some twitching or gill movement within a few minutes. When you are confident that your koi is fully awake, go ahead and return it back to the pond it came from. Observe for a few minutes to be sure it is swimming OK and didn't make a torpedo dive to the bottom, knocking itself silly!

    Depending on the fish (each is a little different) and the severity of the split, the sutures will have to remain in for several months. But this also depends on the size of the fish. It seems the larger the fish, the longer it takes to heal!