Des Moines Register
09-01-07
Women's doctor leads surgery on orangutan
By PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Iowa State University veterinarians called in a specialist in human treatment to
help remove the ovaries of a Great Ape Trust orangutan that was suffering pain
caused by a cyst.
Knobi, 27, was recovering at the ape trust Friday, a day after her surgery.
Knobi, one of three orangutans at the southeast Des Moines research center,
had been lethargic and had stopped eating and drinking last week. She appeared
to be in pain, ape trust scientists said, and Dr. Brigetta Hughes, the ape trust's
veterinarian, called ISU for an appointment.
Because apes' anatomies are similar to that of humans, the university's team of
board-certified veterinarians sought the assistance of Dr. Tim Leeds, an
obstetrician who works for the Doran Clinic for Women in Ames.
During three hours in the operating room Thursday at ISU's Veterinary Teaching
Hospital, the team, led by Dr. Leeds, encountered scar tissue that prevented it
from safely removing Knobi's uterus. The surgeons removed both ovaries after
finding the left one had a cyst and was lodged in scar tissue - a likely source of
the pain. The other ovary was at risk of also growing a cyst.
Robert Shumaker, who runs the ape trust's orangutan research program, said
Knobi's change in behavior, coupled with her history of irregular menstruation
and urinary tract infections, contributed to the decision to call ISU.
"There are not a lot of universities that could do this surgery," said Dr. Robert
King, chief of small-animal medicine at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Because Knobi is a mix of Sumatran and Borneo orangutans, and because
scientists want to keep the ape populations' genetics separate as part of
conservation efforts, surgeons had tied Knobi's fallopian tubes earlier in her life.
That operation had left her with scar tissue in her abdomen, preventing
successful use of a laparoscope on Thursday.
Leeds said the surgery was four times longer than a complication-free human
operation. Surgeons had to make an 8-inch incision in the orangutan's abdomen.
"It was challenging," Leeds said of the surgery.
Shumaker and the ISU veterinarians said Knobi should make a full recovery.
They also confirmed that Knobi's diabetes is under control.
Said Leeds: "There is a legion of problems that could occur," but he added that
he is optimistic Knobi won't have complications.
The operating team decided to leave alone the benign tumor in the orangutan's
uterus - just as it would have for a human patient, King said. The growth should
shrink with the hormonal changes brought on by the removal of the ovaries. "This
was not a routine surgery," King said.
Hughes, of the ape trust, said Friday that she is happy with Knobi's progress.
Knobi is in a separate part of the research center, but can see and hear her
orangutan housemates, Azy, a male, and Allie, a female.
Dr. Sally Prickett, director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, declined to reveal
financial arrangements made for the surgery, citing confidentiality concerns.
"Let's just say we treated them very well," she said.
Reporter Perry Beeman can be reached at (515) 284-8538 or
pbeeman@dmreg.com