Watch the enormous rhino getting a CAT scan before undergoing surgery
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An eight-year-old eastern black rhinoceros with a blocked nose had a CAT scan before undergoing surgery to cure blocked nose.
Layla was unable to breathe and vets at the Chicago Zoological Society performed a CAT scan on the enormous rhino to find out the cause of the blocked nose.
Layla, who is 164 stone and 12 foot long, faced difficulties as she was too large and couldn’t be moved inside the zoo’s animal hospital.
The vets had to bring in a portable scanner to the zoo’s pachyderm house. 40 members of staff had to move Layla to the scanner.
It turned out Layla had an unerupted molar which was the cause of the nasal obstruction.
After the vets found out the cause of the blocked nose, Layle underwent surgery that was carried out by veterinary staff and three doctors. Finally, they removed the molar from Layla’s mouth.
Everyone was amazed at how Layla tolerated the procedure.
Dr.
Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine for Chicago Zoological Society, said: “Their heads are so incredibly massive and their bones are so thick that our traditional X-rays are just not able to penetrate through the skull to provide a clear picture.
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“To our knowledge, this type of surgery has never been performed on an adult rhinoceros before. We are very encouraged by how well Layla has tolerated the procedure.”
“In the wild, this condition would have proved fatal, but we are very hopeful that with our advanced medical care we will be able to save Layla’s life.”
“We are extremely grateful for our partnerships with everyone who has assisted with the surgery and CT scan to help create an optimal outcome for Layla.”
Layla is now recovering at the Chicago Zoological Society. We hope she gets well soon.