On Sunday morning, Terry was anesthetized and brought into our veterinary clinic for a planned dental check-up and physical exam. Here’s more from Dr. Erin:
Terry managed to sustain injuries to not just one but both of his lower canine teeth in the last three years. The right one was attended to immediately and a follow up exam showed healing and no infection. The missing left lower canine was observed some months later. While things can look okay from the surface and even on follow up x-rays after a tooth is injured, months later, problems can develop. Terry has been on the docket for an exam but knowing that extraction of one or both of the teeth on follow up was a possibility, we jumped at the chance to have a visit from the Dental Coalition for Conservation so Terry could get the expert treatment he deserves. The x-rays did indeed show that it was in Terry’s best interest to have both of these canine teeth extracted.
Terry did well throughout the procedure and was back in recovery later that morning. The effects of the anesthesia and pain meds kept him lying low for the remainder of the day but by the following morning he was eating and blowing his iconic raspberries again. Yesterday afternoon, he felt good enough to rejoin his group.
The team prepares Terry for intubation and IV catheters:
Dentists from the Dental Coalition for Conservation take x-rays:
Terry receives an updated echocardiogram while the dental work is being performed:
With the dental work complete, he receives an abdominal ultrasound:
Back in recovery, the team monitors Terry until he begins to emerge safely from his anesthesia:
The chimps are fortunate to have such skilled and caring professionals volunteering to care for them. We are grateful to the Dental Coalition for Conservation, including Charles Dyer, DDS, MS, Lacy Dyer, Founder and Managing Director, and Kerry Robson, DDS; the vet tech team, including Jen Garcia, Jamie Kenfield, and MacKenzie Kantwill; soon-to-be-graduating WSU veterinary student Larrea Cottingham; echocardiogram technicians Jamie Sheehan and Amy Owens; and sonographer Korie Krause.
This afternoon, Terry had lunch with his family, who get to join him in his soft food diet for the next several days:
I would like to know whether the absence of his, bottom, canines wiill affect your, food, choices for him in the future?
I don’t think so. IIRC, Burrito is missing his (common for entertainment and petting zoo chimps to lose theirs), and possibly Fox? I remember that a while ago, someone said that visitors to a sanctuary will say “oh, I see you have a biter”, and I inferred that they drew that conclusion from a chimp’s missing canines.
Hi Diane – No, the canines are used more for fighting and for show and aren’t all that necessary for mastication so Terry’s diet shouldn’t be affected in any way.
Terry looks huge in these photos! So much bigger than Jamie or Burrito when we’ve seen them go in.
Glad Terry is back in action! Thanks to the team!
Yeah, he kinda looks like a jacked body builder. Who knew?
I am sorry to read about Terry’s loss. I am also grateful for the excellent care which Terry and all of the residents of the Sanctuary receive. I wish him an unremarkable recovery, and that he will soon be able to impress Missy and the other women next door with his chest-thumping impersonation of a gorilla.
Thank you for sharing Terry’s tricky dental procedure complete with step by step photos. Many thanks to you and the medical/dental team ensuring that our brave boy was in very good hands. Terry has lost two teeth but by the look of him he’s on the road to full recovery; raspberries and pant hoots galore. :heart::heart::sparkling_heart:
Many thanks to the team for working on a Sunday to take care of our big guy, Terry. Also thanks to the team who took care of him, during post-op.
Thank you all for your impeccable care of Terry! It’s good to hear that his lack of canines doesn’t affect his signature raspberry!
As always….Thank you to the amazing team who volunteered their sunday to take care of Terry.
Dr. Erin and the sanctuary must be well respected in the medical world to have all these collegues willing to help.
THANK YOU !
You take such wonderful care of the chimps. It warms my heart. I wish all animals could receive such care. How is Terry’s heart?
Poor Terry. I had a dog who needed her bottom canine extracted. After the procedure, the veterinarian showed me photos of the surgery and the extracted tooth. The shocking thing was, the root of the canine tooth was much longer than the tooth that appeared above the gum. So I’m assuming that Terry’s extraction of two of these teeth it’s not a pleasant situation for him. And yet look at him! Still the same happy go lucky Terry. Thank goodness, having two missing teeth is not affecting his raspberry blowing. One would think you need a good stiff chin structure to ruffle the bottom lip in order to create an attention getting raspberry.
Sending out a big grateful “Thank You!” to everyone involved. As everyone above has stated, it is always amazing to read about the incredible healthcare the chimps (and cow girls!) receive. And thank you for including the link to the Dental Coalition for Conservation. What a fascinating organization.
Dental coalition for conservation
Thank you so much for your efforts, medical team! :rose: