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Lucky labrador makes miraculous recovery after vets remove tumour the size of a rugby ball from his chest

A lucky labrador has made a miraculous recovery after vets removed a tumour the size of a rugby ball from its chest.

Sebastian’s owner Dave Badkin took the six-year-old to the vet after he started coughing and retching on his daily walk.

A CT scan revealed a 3kg, 28cm-long tumour that was crushing Sebastian’s heart and lungs.

A lucky labrador made a miraculous recovery after a tumour the size of a rugby ball was removed from his chest
Huge – The tumour was 28cm long and weighed 3kg (Pictures: SWNS)

Dave, 54, said: “The vets thought it remarkable he was still alive with a tumour of that size inside him.

“The vet said it was so big there was only an inch of his lungs which could work. He was basically being slowly suffocated by it.”

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Vets Ian Nicholson and Joachim Proot, of Calder Vets in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, removed the malignant tumour in an gruelling six-hour operation.

Incredibly, after just two days later Sebastian was back home and has since made a full recovery.

A lucky labrador made a miraculous recovery after a tumour the size of a rugby ball was removed from his chest
Miracle – Just two days after his operation Sebastian was back home

Hospital worker Dave, from Leeds, added: “We were aware of the risks of surgery but because Sebastian had fought so hard to survive against the odds, we felt we owed it to him to do everything possible for him.

“It was a brilliant result. Better still, when the results of further tests came back they showed the cancer hadn’t spread so he is, to all intents and purposes, completely cured.

“I was shocked to learn about the size of the tumour. Looking at a rugby ball it’s hard to believe that something so big was inside him.”

A lucky labrador made a miraculous recovery after a tumour the size of a rugby ball was removed from his chest
Risky – the tumour was pressing against Sebastian’s heart and lungs

Vet Ian Nicholson said: “Because of the size and weight of the tumour and its position pressing against Sebastian’s heart and lungs, this was a complex and potentially risky procedure, complicated by Sebastian ‘going blue’ whenever he was on his back.

“But everything went well and we’re delighted Sebastian has made a full recovery.”

A lucky labrador made a miraculous recovery after a tumour the size of a rugby ball was removed from his chest
A lucky labrador made a miraculous recovery after a tumour the size of a rugby ball was removed from his chest