His underbite was so prominent that you hardly noticed the sizable scar branded across his dappled forehead. But Bubba, the 154-pound Queensland grouper in the Wild Reef shark habitat, was a reminder of how far veterinary medicine — and Shedd Aquarium's staff, in particular — have come in treating a diseased animal.
In 2001 aquarists noticed pink, pimply growths that resembled a bacterial infection on Bubba's head. When antibiotics failed to nip their development, two biopsies were ordered over several months that eventually revealed a malignant tumor. In fall 2002, Shedd veterinarians and two guest veterinary oncologists performed surgery and administered chemotherapy-believed to be the first such chemo treatment for a fish.
