Tortoise with egg bound syndrome undergoes laparoscopic surgery

THE SMALL Animal Clinic, Pune successfully conducted a laparoscopic egg bound surgery on a tortoise who suffered from egg bound syndrome for the past six months and couldn’t eat properly.

The surgery was done by a team headed by Dr Narendra Pardeshi, veterinary surgeon at the clinic. It was very successful and the tortoise, fondly known as Ladoo, can now eat easily without any difficulty.

Prem Luniya’s family was recently worried as their pet Ladoo was not eating properly and looked weak and sluggish. They consulted various vets who could not offer any solution to their problem.

Dr Pardeshi said, “When Ladoo came to us on January 15, she was in a terrible shape – weak, fatigued and not eating at all. A small quantity of liquids was keeping her barely alive. Her X-ray and ultrasound revealed that the star back tortoise had a persistent egg bound syndrome for the past six months. She was trying hard to push the eggs out but it wasn’t happening. Her haemoglobin level went down. The syndrome is common among tortoises and turtles but diagnosed very rarely.”

Dr Narendra Pardeshi said, “It is not allowed to keep the pet under Exotic Animals Act. The tortoise was rescued and has been only helped with appropriate treatment. In open surgery, the expert has to cut the shells and it takes around 6-8 months for a tortoise or a turtle to completely recover, whereas, in this first-of-its-kind laparoscopic egg bound surgery, healing occurs within 3 days as there is no need to cut the shell. After rescuing him and healing completely, the tortoise, which is an important part of the environment, will be going back to the environment where it belongs.”