Monkey undergoes groundbreaking surgery
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MOLINE, Ill. (Quad-City Times) — A first-of-its-kind surgery has been performed on a monkey at Niabi Zoo by a Moline doctor and the zoo’s house veterinarian.
Earlier this year, a zookeeper noticed a small amount of blood in the enclosure housing Keeya, a female black and white colobus monkey, said Lee Jackson, director at the Coal Valley zoo.
“Upon closer examination a tumorous mass was identified protruding from her vaginal wall,” according to a news release issued Monday by Niabi Zoo. “Tests were immediately performed and on February 28th the results returned positive for Leiomyosarcoma, a form of cancer.”
Niabi’s veterinarian, Dr. Lauren Hughes, consulted a pathologist to confirm the diagnosis, then colleagues with the Chicago Zoological Society to perform an ultrasound and CT scan in early March at Brookfield Zoo’s Animal Hospital in Chicago.
“Armed with a firm diagnoses and a clear view of what we were up against, Dr. Hughes enlisted the help of noted local OB/GYN Dr. Justin Hinzman, and together they performed … a full hysterectomy on March 27th of this year,” Jackson said.
It is believed to be the first procedure of its kind ever performed, and the medical team intends to produce a case report that details the event, he said.
In researching Keeya’s condition, Hughes said Monday, she could find no other cases of a colobus monkey with the same kind of tumor and found no examples of successful hysterectomies as treatment.
The type of cancer not only is rare in the species but is highly unusual for such a young primate. Keeya is about 6, and her species can live to be 20 years old, she said.
Hughes sought out Hinzman, she said, because she needed a physician with a knowledge of primates’ reproductive systems, which complimented her knowledge of animals’ unique digestive systems. As fellow primates, humans and colobus monkeys have anatomical similarities.
“It was a nice marriage of our two professions,” she said of working with Hinzman. “It was absolutely nerve-racking, although we both felt confident in our skills.
“The surgery went beautifully. It could not have gone better. Now after monitoring her for these five months we are optimistic, confident even, that she will live a long, healthy life.”
Jackson attributed the team approach to Keeya’s treatment for her survival.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that this magnificent animal would not be with us today if it were not for the remarkable team of animal keepers, veterinarians, medical technicians and medical specialists who worked together to treat Keeya,” he said.
“The seven (colobus) individuals in our troop are an important part of North American Breeding population, currently made up of only 170 individuals,” he said. “The Niabi Zoo partners with more than 50 other zoos in the U.S. and Canada to manage the breeding of this species in a program called the Black and White Colobus SSP (Species Survival Plan).
“This cooperative breeding program helps not only assure that these beautiful animals will be here for zoo visitors to be inspired by, but also serves as an assurance colony in the event re-introductions into the wild are ever needed.”
The monkey’s inability to breed does not diminish her value to her troop, Niabi’s assistant director Tammy Schmidt said.
“While Keeya will no longer be able to have offspring, her role in the continued success of our breeding program is still vitally important” Schmidt said. “In Colobus monkey society, aunts, (related females without babies) play a crucial role in the care and rearing of offspring in the troop. Keeya has played that role brilliantly in the past, and we are confident she will continue to do so in the future”.
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