Doctors called in for gorilla's surgery

A trio of women's health specialists accustomed to tricky reproductive ailments and gynecological cancer recently were called in to perform surgery on a high-profile resident of the North Carolina Zoo.

It took four hours for Dr. Fidel Valea, an oncologist at Duke University Medical Center, and Drs. Sameh Toma and Gerald Mulvaney of the N.C. Center for Reproductive Medicine in Cary to do a full hysterectomy on Donna, a western lowland gorilla. It was the first gorilla operation for all three doctors.

At 40, Donna is the oldest of the three female gorillas at the zoo and, according to senior veterinarian Dr. Ryan De Voe, the one with the most personality.

More than a year ago, De Voe said, observant keepers noticed Donna was bleeding excessively during her menstrual periods. Ultrasounds revealed what at first appeared to be fibroid tumors.

Eventually, Donna was taken to the veterinary school at N.C. State University, where surgeons planned to remove her uterus. But when they went in to do the surgery, they found so many adhesions in the abdomen that they couldn't even reach the uterus.

Rather than risk injury to Donna's colon trying to remove the adhesions, doctors took biopsies and closed Donna back up.

When tests showed a malignant tumor in the uterus, De Voe asked for help from Toma, who brought in Mulvaney and Valea.

It's not unusual to have medical doctors work on primates, De Voe said; anatomical similarities allow medical doctors to apply the same techniques used on humans, which can be helpful in complex cases such as Donna's. Dentists also are called on to help with special veterinary cases from time to time.

"I had a human dentist in to do a root canal on a polar bear once," De Voe said.

In late August, the doctors treating Donna brought their equipment and several nurses to the operating room at the veterinary hospital in the zoological park near Asheboro. There, they were able to remove the adhesions in Donna's abdomen, then took out her uterus and ovaries.

Donna, more stout than the typical female gorilla at about 160 pounds, never appeared to be in pain from the condition, De Voe said, and recovered quickly from the procedure.

"She was a little under the weather the next day. After that she was fine," De Voe said. She was back in her grassy exhibit with the other gorillas in less than two weeks.

Toma said he didn't learn anything new from the procedure but appreciated the chance to help. He and the other specialists donated their time on the case.

"It was a good feeling to be able to use my skills in helping out the zoo, and helping out this animal," he said.

Because Donna's cancer had spread outside the uterus when it was found, doctors will continue to monitor her.