By Jesse Graham
UPDATE: 5.20pm
ARTHUR the koala joey is expected to make a full recovery after surgery earlier today at the Healesville Sanctuary on a broken leg.
The joey was brought into the sanctuary by two Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning officers on Wednesday 29 July, after they were flagged down by a member of the public near Powelltown.
Vets at the sanctuary determined the koala was likely hit by a car, which also broke his arm, and scheduled surgery for Thursday 30 July to fix Arthur’s broken femur.
But during the surgery, which started at about noon, Doctor Franciscus Sheelings noticed that the bone had shattered more than anticipated, making the procedure more difficult.
“It was more complex than I thought it was going to be,” Dr Sheelings said.
“There was a large crack extending down the length of the leg, which needed to be stabilised, in addition to the large fracture we have seen on the X-Ray.”
Though the mood at the Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC) was grim when the discovery was made – as it could potentially hinder efforts to fix the leg – a thumbs-up from Doctor Meg Curnick soon appeared to let members of the public watching know the surgery was back on track.
Shortly after 1.30pm, Arthur was brought out of anaesthesia, his leg wired and stitched up and his broken arm splinted.
Arthur was found dehydrated and limping by the side of the road when he was brought in, but is now on the road to recovery.
Dr Curnick told media before the operation that it would take between four to six weeks for Arthur to recover, with vets later assessing whether he could be released.
“He’ll be with us for a while,” she said.
“We’ll have to make an assessment as to whether we can be absolutely sure that his welfare will be fine if he’s back in the wild – if not, sometimes what happens is we keep them in our collection.
“We’ll do everything we can to ensure he has a really good future, either way.”
For the full story, and more photos, see next week’s Mail.
Earlier…
VETS at Healesville Sanctuary are working to repair a koala joey’s broken leg after he was brought in by DELWP workers yesterday.
Arthur the koala joey is currently being worked on by veterinary doctors at the sanctuary’s Animal Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC) after being brought in with a broken arm and leg yesterday.
Two Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) staff members brought the koala in after finding him walking by the side of the road in Powelltown.The men were flagged down by a member of the public, and brought the animal to the AWHC on Wednesday, 29 July.
After an assessment and X-Rays, vets discovered the animal had a broken femur and forearm.The femur required surgery, to pin the broken bone, but the arm is expected to heal without surgical intervention.
After surgical preparation, Doctors Franciscus Sheelings and Meg Curnick, along with vet nurse Gerry Ross, started their work at 11am on Thursday, 30 July, to repair the leg bone.
Ms Curnick said the surgery is expected to take until about 1.30pm.Should the bones heal, Arthur, as he was named by the DELWP staff, is expected to be released into the wild in about six weeks.
For the full story, and more photos, see next week’s Mail.
