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Veterinarian Saves the Eye of a Tiger With an Operation That’s Never Been Done on a Big Cat
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Veterinarian Saves the Eye of a Tiger With an Operation That’s Never Been Done on a Big Cat

Receiving surgery for a cornea ulcer, Ratna, a 17-year old Sumatran tiger living in England was the first ever to undergo this procedure.

Science & Tech

If one can withstand the insufferable puns, they might be pleased to note that 17-year-old Sumatran tiger Ratna at Shepreth Wildlife Park in England made a full recovery after the surgery that successfully restored her eyesight.

Having had a cataract removed from her left eye in 2017, Ratna developed another problem in her conjunctiva, the pink part of the eyeball. Staff noticed her eyeball deteriorating, eventually turning bright red as if containing a fractured blood vessel.

Surgeon Dr. David Williams, from the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital at the University of Cambridge, performed an operation which is not uncommon in domestic cats and dogs, and was completed in much the same way—aside from needing “a lot more anesthesia.”

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It is believed to be the first “hood graft” surgery done on a big cat.

Williams hypothesized that Ratna must have stuck her eye on a shard of bamboo in her enclosure.