Romain Pizzi, the veterinarian who pioneered keyhole surgery for animals, has operated on sharks, chimps even a moon bear
In 2012, the conservation benevolence Free the Bears approached Romain Pizzi, one of the most innovative wildlife surgeons in Europe, with an rare case. A expert in laparoscopic( keyhole) surgery- until very recently rare in veterinary medicine- Pizzi has operated on giraffes and tarantulas, penguins and baboons, monstrous tortoises and at least one shark, and maintains a reputation for taking on events others won’t. If you’re in possession of a beast with gallstones, or a suspiciously sickly beaver, you call Pizzi. As Matt Hunt, CEO of Free the Bears says,” We have other vets who are incredibly talented. But Romain is one of different kinds .”
The patient in question was a three-year-old female Asiatic black endure, also known as a moon tolerate, called Champa. Moon allows, poached for their bile and bodyparts, are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Rescued as a puppy and brought to a Free the Bears sanctuary in Laos, Champa had a deformed skull and impaired eyesight. While other produces would socialise, she would mope around her pen, head down, apparently in affliction. Pizzi believed “shes had” hydrocephalus, a uncommon problem in which excess cerebrospinal flowing is an increase in the skull, causing brain damage.
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