The owner has owned this goldfish for 10 years, and decided to get this surgery to remove a tumor. I was also surprised at this, a lifespan of a goldfish can be 10-15 years. But often mismanaged environments like fishbowls mean they often don't live past 3 years(Did a Google search). Unfortunately the first pet I got was a goldfish that only lived for a couple weeks, as I didn't know the proper care required. We make so many assumptions about other animals- that they're inferior, etc. Yet we know so little about all the wildlife out there. We maybe need to give fish more respect. As a side note, I was also amazed watching 'My Octopus Teacher' on Netflix, and how sensitive, personable, and intelligent Octopuses are. Definitely recommend watching it, also a story of a nice human journey.