It took a group of more than 20 veterinarians to eliminate the world’s biggest gallstone from the body of an elephant.
Workers at an elephant camp in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, ended up being worried after Sai Thong lost her hunger, was having a hard time to go to the toilet and collapsed with serious stomach pains.
Vets from Kasetsart University in Bangkok were employed to analyze the three-tonne animal, however it was believed she was simply dealing with aging.
But when medics carried out an endoscopy recently, they were stunned to discover a 20cm by 15cm stone inside her gallbladder.
They run on her the exact same day, by connecting her on a harness connected to a crane to stop her from tipping over after being provided anaesthetic.
It took 6 hours for the substantial group to draw out the stone from her gallbladder – weighing a huge 1.7kg.
Associate Professor Dr Nikorn Thongthip, part of the group that ran on Sai Thong, stated it was just the 2nd time in the world that a gallstone had actually been eliminated from an elephant.
‘This is only the second case in the world of a gallstone being removed from an elephant,’ he included.
‘The very first time, we carried out a comparable surgical treatment on Kham Moon, a 45-year-old male elephant.
‘However the case of Sai Thong is different, as we removed one big gallstone weighing 1.7kg. In the case of Kham Moon, we removed over 162 small gallstones weighing a total of 8kg.’
Dr Thongthip stated the operation was a ‘breakthrough’ for the global veterinary neighborhood, and stated they will share their understanding on dealing with big animals throughout the world.
But due to the substantial clog in her bladder, Sai Thong had actually contracted an infection and nearly suffered intense kidney failure.
She was provided blood transfusions after the operation.
‘I am relieved that we were able to treat her before the infection became acute. The operation was successful thanks to everyone’s efforts,’ included Dr Thongthip.
Elephants are the nationwide animal of Thailand, and around 2,000 of them reside in the wild. A comparable number reside in captivity consisting of sanctuaries and zoos, or work independently for hire at wedding events and celebrations.
Get in touch with our news group by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, inspect our news page.
Get your need-to-know
newest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more