Wanda the wombat receives life-saving hip surgery

Wanda the wombat is recovering nicely following her rare, life-saving hip-replacement surgery.

The two-hour surgery was the first of its kind to be performed on an animal of her size.

"I personally haven't seen a hip issue in a wombat before," Jenny McLellan, a veterinarian at the Adelaide Zoo, said in a video by ITN Productions.

Wanda developed arthritis in her hip and stopped using one leg. She needed a step to climb into her bed. Vets determined that hip surgery was the only option to save her life.

"In a dog and a cat it's pretty easy to do," said specialist surgeon Scott Rose. "If you have a wombat with a lot of musculature around the hip, the approach can be a lot more challenging."

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The 22-year-old marsupial, who is part of the Adelaide Conservation Ark program, is recuperating at Adelaide Zoo's animal health centre. She is expected to make a full recovery.

"Australian wombats have better healthcare than American humans. What is this world we live in?" wrote Geekosystem's Carolyn Cox.