A vet has saved the life of a female tiger at Dublin Zoo by performing "super-sized" dental surgery on the big cat's broken teeth.
Popular Dublin Zoo resident Tundra, an eight-year-old female Amur tiger, was suffering with a fractured upper and lower canine, resulting in serious discomfort and difficulty eating. Zookeepers were very worried over Tundra's condition, and they asked for help from Nora Schwitzer, who leads the dentistry referral service at MyVet in Dublin.
Nora and her team of vets carried out an emergency root canal surgery on Tundra at Dublin Zoo earlier this month. The team was made up of zoo vets Niamh McGill and Emma Flynn, Nora and veterinary nurse Lisa Donnelly, Joei Potter and Xavia Torruella of the anaesthesia team at University College Dublin, and human dentist, Tom Linehan.
Speaking to Dublin Live, Nora who has 15 years of experience in veterinary dentistry, said that a broken tooth can cause "real problems if left untreated" for big cats. She said: "Fracturing teeth is not an uncommon issue for big cats because they eat and chew very large chunks of meat, but it can cause real problems if it goes untreated."
Like with human root canals, the procedure involved removing damaged tissue, filling the cavity and sealing the crown with a filling. But due to Tundra's super-sized canines, the vets had to upscale their operating theatre in Dublin Zoo with large tools and lots of sealant.
The surgery itself took six-and-a-half hours to complete, with Tundra the tigress under general anaesthetic for the major op.
Nora explained: "We filled one tooth at a time, with the first surgery taking about four hours to complete, mainly because it was challenging to stabilise Tundra under general anaesthetic. The second surgery was much faster at two-and-a-half hours, and I’m pleased to say both were successful."
Nora said that Tundra is now expected to make a full recovery, and she described the successful operations as a "real team effort." She added: "We’re all delighted to see Tundra is enjoying mealtimes again.”
It's not the first time that Nora and her team have assisted an animal at Dublin Zoo. Last year Nora also helped adorable red panda Yasmina who had several abrasions and absecces surrounding her teeth and gums from eating bamboo. Nora and her team removed several of Yasmina's teeth, and the red panda is now back eating her favourite meal of bamboo.
MyVet has premises in Firhouse and Lucan in Dublin, and Maynooth in Co Kildare.
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