Great Apes

Successful surgical correction of a cataract in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) via field setting at a zoological facility

“…Most zoological immobilizations utilize various combinations of benzodiazepines, ketamine, alpha-2 agonists, and tiletamine-zolazepam. [1][2][3][4] There are reports of non-human primate phacoemulsification procedures including gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), Howler monkey (Alouatta caraya), pygmy marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea), and a chacma baboon (Papio ursinus). [5][6][7][8] In non-human primates cataracts occur spontaneously and may be associated with ultraviolet radiation, viral infections, metabolic disorders, abnormal cortisol levels, or hereditary.…”

“…Although there are extensive reports of successful immobilization of chimpanzee and other great apes in the literature, there are no reports including a field setting approach of cataract removal. Most zoological immobilizations utilize various combinations of benzodiazepines, ketamine, alpha‐2 agonists, and tiletamine‐zolazepam 1–4 . There are reports of non‐human primate phacoemulsification procedures including gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla ), chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ), orangutan ( Pongo pygmaeus ), Howler monkey ( Alouatta caraya ), pygmy marmoset ( Callithrix pygmaea ), and a chacma baboon ( Papio ursinus ) 5–8 .…”

A clinical study to evaluate the cardiopulmonary characteristics of two different anaesthetic protocols for immobilization of healthy chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

“…Affected animals often do not display clinical signs, presenting only as cases of sudden death (Lammey et al 2008). For this reason, pro-active screening is key to identifying affected animals early in the disease process, but the size and dangerous nature of the animals necessitates that cardiac assessments are usually performed under anaesthesia (Cerveny & Sleeman 2014). A small number of (mostly American) zoos are undertaking conscious echocardiographic evaluation in trained animals, but the restrictions of scanning an animal, through mesh or bars for safety, severely restricts the probe angles and positions and thus the diagnostic potential.…”