Durban - After months of planning, a 35-year-old endangered male western lowland gorilla named Makokou at the Johannesburg Zoo, underwent successful three-hour surgery to remove polyps in his congested nasal passages.
Dr Kresen Pillay, who is one of three vets at the zoo, confirmed that this was only the second documented operation of its kind in the world.
Last year, Makokou started suffering from chronic nasal discharge and was airlifted by helicopter to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) last month and again on June 6 where he had a CT scan, Pillay said.
Fortunately, Pillay said the scanning apparatus at OVAH was large enough to handle an animal the size of Makokou who weighs 210kg.
A number of tests were conducted on the gorilla before the surgery could be performed which included CT scans, multiple blood tests, radiography, ultrasound, ophthalmic and dental examinations.
Makokou, a 35-year old male western lowland gorilla - an endangered species - from the Johannesburg Zoo undergoes surgery at the weekend to remove polyps from his nasal cavity, which is uncommon in gorillas . Professor Adrian Tordiffe
The surgery was led by Dr Kobus Venter, an ear, nose and throat specialist who practises on humans and also assists with delicate brain surgeries, with the assistance of Dr Gerhard Steenkamp and Dr José Carlo Almansa Ruiz, who are veterinary specialists in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery, affiliated to the veterinary faculty of the University of Pretoria (UP).
They were assisted by anaesthesiologists from the same faculty.
According to Pillay, the procedure for removing the polyps which was performed on Saturday at the zoo was similar to that of humans.
The team drew on the expertise of the first documented procedure which was performed in Seattle in the US in 2014.
He said there had been some concern that he could have nasal cancer which has since been ruled out, as the growths were found to be benign.
“A biopsy was performed, and it revealed that he had chronic rhinitis with inflammatory polyps developing in his nasal passages which is an uncommon occurrence in gorillas.”
Pillay said Makokou was recovering well and they were extremely satisfied with his progress.
Makokou, who is part of the international Zoological Information Management Study Book, was born at the Stuttgart Zoo in Germany in 1985.
To manage genetic diversity of gorilla populations, he arrived at the Joburg Zoo at age 19, in 2004.