California Zoo Vets Save Gorilla Using Drug Techniques – New York Times International Weekly – International

While the patient was anesthetized on the table, the cardiologist made an incision in his chest. He removed a small implanted heart monitor with a low battery and inserted a new one.

The patient was diagnosed with heart disease; The monitor will provide continuous data on heart rate and rhythm, alerting their doctors to irregularities. Four stitches are required to close the incision. In a few hours, the patient gorilla named Winston will be reunited with his family at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California.

“Winston, 51, is a very old male gorilla,” said Matt Kinney, senior veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, who led the medical staff during the procedure. With better health care, new technology and better nutrition, “we see animals living longer and staying healthier longer,” he said.

With “human-managed care,” gorillas can now live two decades longer than the 30 to 40 years that are common in the wild. However, like their human relatives, aging also leads to chronic diseases. Gorillas are prone to heart disease, a leading cause of death for them and us. So the questions for caregivers now are similar to those faced by doctors and older human patients: How much treatment is too much?

To keep gorillas healthy, zoo veterinarians not only turn to technology and drugs developed for humans, but also consult medical specialists such as cardiologists, radiologists, obstetricians and dentists.

Winston takes four heart medications that people also take, though in different doses. (Weight 205 kg). The heart monitor he found has also been implanted in humans. He got his annual flu shot this fall and is receiving physical therapy for arthritis.

Many of Winston’s longtime caregivers have retired. But Winston is still at work, leading his pack of five gorillas, keeping the peace.

“He’s such a gentle silverback and an incredibly patient father,” said Jim Hagwood, curator of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “He will still let his youngest daughter take food from his mouth.”

Zoos have twice released females with cubs into herds, which can lead to infanticide in the wild. “He raised those men as if they were his own children,” Hagwood said.

Winston, a western lowland gorilla native to Central Africa, arrived at the San Diego Zoo in 1984. He enjoyed solid health until 2017, when his keepers noticed a “general slowdown,” said Kinney, who performed Winston’s first echocardiogram. . The test showed only “some subtle changes, nothing alarming,” he said.

Then, in 2021, the entire herd was infected with the coronavirus. “Winston was the hardest hit,” Kinney said. After an infusion of monoclonal antibodies, Winston recovered.

While Winston was being treated, veterinarians and doctors became aware of health problems. His heart had begun to pump less efficiently; That led to a daily regimen of drugs hidden in his food and an implanted monitor. He also takes ibuprofen and acetaminophen for arthritis. More concerning were the CT scans and biopsy that showed a cancerous tumor affecting Winston’s right kidney.

After considering Winston’s life expectancy and determining that the tumor is not growing, “we feel comfortable continuing to monitor him,” Kinney said.

“We want to make sure that Winston lives a good life, that he feels fulfilled,” he said. “Winston, we have a good understanding of what makes Winston.”

Paula Spahn. The New York Times