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Amanda Butterfield reporting A female gorilla at the Hogle Zoo may have ovarian cancer and is preparing to undergo surgery tomorrow morning. The zoo has brought in a team of doctors from University of Utah Medical Center and Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) to work on the animal.
Tino is Muke's mate, and he's restless and agitated because Muke is nowhere to be seen. "He knows something is wrong. He knows something is going on, and he's very concerned," explained Dr. Nancy Carpenter, with the Hogle Zoo.
Muke is in a room just below Tino's cage getting prepped for surgery. For the past two years Muke has been in pain. The veterinarians at the zoo have watched her closely and even brought in specialists from University of Utah Medical Center. Together they think they've found the source of Muke's pain, bloating, fatigue and bleeding: uterine and possibly ovarian cancer.
"She's kinda like a 75- [or] 80-year-old woman. So, when you've had your reproductive tract that long, things really can go wrong with it," Carpenter said.
The zoo's veterinarians don't do much cancer surgery, but they've found someone from IHC who does.
"That's all I do: operate three times a week on women who have female cancer," said Dr. Mark Dodson, gynecological oncologist with IHC.
Dodson has never operated on any animal before but is up to the challenge. "I'm not so sure it will be different than operating on a human. I think the skin will be thicker. I think the anatomy will be very similar," he said.
Images doctors have taken show Muke likely has cancer in her uterus. Once Dodson gets inside, he can see if it's spread to her ovaries, and those will be removed either way.
Basically she'll be getting a hysterectomy. "Even if it's cancer, I think her prognosis will be reasonable and she'll feel tons better!" Dodson said.
But there is a risk. "Once in, I may find cancer that is inoperable and will discuss putting her down," Carpenter said.
But the team of veterinarians remains hopeful, and so would Tino if he knew what was going on. The two have been mates for over a decade and their bond is as strong as a human's.
If the surgery is successful, the recovery rate on animals is much faster then humans. They expect Muke to be back to normal in a week, and it's likely she'll need some chemo for a while after.
