Asian and African elephants are frequently afflicted by foot disorders that can be very
challenging to manage even with aggressive therapy. Such conditions may have indirect
life-threatening effects. Mohs’ paste (zinc chloride based escharotic agent) was used to
treat a female Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) aged 39 years
with foot disorder at Kanazawa Zoological Gardens. Degenerated hyperplastic tissue was
observed inside the hoofs of digits 2 and 5. Mohs’ paste was applied on the lesions, which
coagulated the hyperplastic tissue and restrained its proliferation. Subsequently, the
hyperplastic tissue could be trimmed with little pain, and the disorder became manageable.
Mohs’ paste treatment was effective and is expected to be an alternative treatment for
hoof disorder.
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