The surgery, performed at the zoo, confirmed Melati’s suspected IBD diagnosis. Photos: Animal Referral Hospital Canberra/Facebook.
In a career-first, Animal Referral Hospital Canberra surgeon Rui Sul has operated on a sick tiger with an upset tummy.
Melati is one of six tigers at Canberra’s National Zoo and Aquarium. Zookeepers noticed there were days when she wasn’t interested in food or would vomit after eating, leading to a tentative diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease – a chronic condition of the gastrointestinal tract.
After a flare-up and some noticeable abdominal discomfort, the zoo partnered with the Animal Referral Hospital Canberra (ARH) to carry out an exploratory laparotomy to rule out any other issues.
“This was an additional investigation to see if there was anything else going on, so we could tailor our treatment appropriately,” the zoo’s principal veterinarian, Dr Joanne Johnson, said.
“Sometimes animals like this might eat a bone or something they shouldn’t.
“It was really important we weren’t missing anything that we needed to be treating.”
Dr Rui Sul: “The basics are very similar to cats … tigers just happen to be a very large cat.”
An anesthetic injection was administered while Melati was still in her enclosure before she was prepared for surgery at the zoo.
For ARH surgeon Dr Rui Sul, being called in to work on a tiger was a first. The small animal surgery specialist spent a week planning the operation before even arriving at the zoo.
“We went through all the protocols in case there were any unexpected events,” he said. “What would happen if we had issues with an anesthetic and she woke up and so on.
“The basics are very similar to cats … tigers just happen to be a very large cat.”
Another vet assisted Dr Sul in the surgery, while a veterinary nurse monitored the anesthesia.
“I inspected everything. There was no one foreign body, no intussusception [a condition when a part of the intestine goes inside another],” he said.
“We took biopsies from the stomach and three portions of the intestine, and then we took a sample of bile directly from the gallbladder.”
The surgery confirmed that Melati had inflammatory bowel, which Dr Johnson says “isn’t too dissimilar” to what humans experience.
Once the surgery was finished, the tiger’s sister, Mya, was moved into the veterinary enclosure as Melati started her recovery.
“While she didn’t get hands-on cuddles from the people, she definitely got a lot of love and attention from her sister,” Dr Johnson said.
Managing Melati’s condition will require ongoing medications and tests throughout her life.
“It can be medically managed,” Dr Johnson says.
“Our keeping team has a fantastic relationship with her. She actually allows us to give her voluntary injections … with some food as a reward.
“She also allows us to take voluntary blood draws to monitor her levels as well, also with food and scratches as a reward.”
Melati’s appetite has quickly returned following the surgery, and her recovery is progressing well.
The National Zoo and Aquarium prides itself on offering world-class care.
“The National Zoo and Aquarium were proud to partner with specialist surgeon Dr Rui Sul from the Animal Referral Hospital to work with our vets during the operation,” a spokesperson said.
“We are delighted that Melati is making a strong recovery and are thankful to Dr Rui Sul, along with our collaborators both across Australia and locally in Canberra, who have supported our beautiful tiger in partnership with us every step of the way.”
Melati and Mya arrived in Canberra as nine-month-old cubs in 2018 as part of tiger conservation efforts.
