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:
