Gorilla At San Diego Zoo Safari Park​ Undergoes Cataract Surgery

SAN DIEGO — Animal care specialists at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and health professionals at UC San Diego Health recently worked together to save a young gorilla's eyesight.

Leslie, a 3-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Safari Park, developed a cataract in her left eye. Animal care specialists confirmed her lens had changed and the eye was shifting haphazardly, causing the gorilla to favor her right eye.

Veterinarians at the Safari Park organized a team of internal and external experts, including ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists from UC San Diego Health, to perform the park's first-ever cataract surgery on a gorilla.

"As veterinarians, we are experts in our species, but we are not necessarily specialists in all of the different fields of medicine," said Dr. Meredith Clancy, a San Diego Zoo Safari Park associate veterinarian. "We rely heavily on the amazing community we have here in San Diego to help us out."

The doctors gathered on Dec. 10 to work on Leslie at the Safari Park's Paul Harter Veterinary Medical Center. With veterinarians in khaki and UC San Diego Health medical team members in scrubs, the gorilla was given a pharmaceutical muscle blocker to prevent any movement.

Dr. Chris W. Heichel, cataract surgery specialist at UC San Diego Health's Shilley Eye Institute, performed the surgery. Although he has performed thousands of eye surgeries on human patients, from a day-old newborn to a 105-year-old, this was his first surgery on a gorilla.

"Fortunately, the similarities between the anatomy of human and gorilla eyes are great enough to allow us to safely navigate the procedure without complication," Heichel said. "The remainder of the eye appeared to be in excellent health, indicating exceptional vision potential for the rest of Leslie's life."

A cataract is a clouding of the clear lens behind the colored part of the eye known as the iris. Cataracts typically develop over time, as part of the normal aging process, but they can also be caused by trauma to the eye. Once a cataract develops, the lens becomes progressively cloudier, and vision deteriorates.

A cataract is a clouding of the clear lens behind the colored part of the eye, known as the iris, and is part of the normal aging process. Once a cataract develops, the lens becomes progressively cloudier, and vision deteriorates.

However, Heichel, Clancy and other animal caregivers believe the young gorilla's cataract was caused by trauma in her youth, possibly from a fall or from rambunctious play with her troop.

While Leslie will require antibiotics and steroids to prevent infection and inflammation, she is already back with her troop at the Gorilla Forest Habitat at the Safari Park.

"I am grateful for the chance I had to work with the exceptional San Diego Zoo Global team, to help have a positive impact on Leslie's life," Heichel said.

Because of Leslie's age, the Safari Park's animal care team was concerned her 31-year-old mother, Kokamo, might be upset about Leslie's absence from the gorilla habitat during the procedure.

They elected to anesthetize Leslie and Kokamo at the same time, and used the opportunity to perform a routine health check on Kokamo, which included dental, cardiac and overall physical assessments. The results of Kokamo's exam showed that she continues to be in good health.

City News Service and Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.