Zoo penguins get helping hand with Surgical Innovations technology

A LEADING minimally invasive surgery (MIS) vet has revealed how he has used instruments from Yorkshire-based company Surgical Innovations (SI) to carry out keyhole surgery on penguins that had swallowed foreign objects.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) vet Romain Pizzi is a pioneer in using MIS techniques, and spoke of the operations whilst presenting his work at the 8th International Penguin Conference in Bristol.

He said that ‘Gentoo’ penguins are very inquisitive, and over the years have swallowed anything from sticks, twigs, stones, gloves, children’s socks, lolly pop sticks, a broken broom handle and coins.

Over the years, he has carried out several minimally invasive endoscopic surgical procedures in penguins; many of which he was able to use SI’s instruments such as the PretzelFlex, the world’s first pretzel shaped organ retractor.

The PretzelFlex is part of SI’s ‘Ultra’ MIS range, which have been specially designed to allow surgeons and veterinary surgeons to perform operations through small 3mm holes; wounds that heal rapidly.

Pizzi said: “Minimally invasive techniques (MIS) hold notable advantages over open surgery, including small wounds, rapid recovery, minimal post-operative pain, rapid healing, and low rates of wound complications. New cutting-edge instruments such as the 3mm PretzelFlex are brilliant and now allow operations to be performed that were pretty much impossible until recently, especially in difficult patients such as penguins.

“These advantages also allow a more rapid return to water, important in aquatic animals such as penguins, whose natural behaviour is to spend much of their time swimming. Endoscopy also provides magnified visualisation of organs as well, as some anatomic regions are difficult to adequately visualise in open surgery. I am pleased to say that the penguins in question were fine and were able to get back into the water soon after surgery.”

Graham Bowland, chief executive of Leeds-based Surgical Innovations, said: “I am delighted that once again our laparoscopic instruments have helped Romain in his operative techniques on the animals at Edinburgh Zoo. Such operations help promote the zoo as a pioneering centre for wildlife and minimally invasive surgery and firmly establish MIS as a viable proposition for animals of all sizes, including penguins.”