Denver zookeeper and devoted doctors save orangutan’s life

Sally, a 44-year-old Sumatran orangutan at the Denver Zoo, should have died last summer.

Thankfully, her devoted zookeeper, Cindy Cossaboon, didn't let that happen.

Watch Sally's story below:

Last year, Sally's menstrual flow became erratic. She became irritable and was no longer interested in food or recreation. She started showing signs of anemia.

Seeing that something was wrong, Denver Zoo veterinarian Diana Boon contacted the Animal Hospital Specialty Center in Highlands Ranch, a nearby veterinary clinic "known for its surgical staff."

A CT scan revealed large mass in Sally's abdomen, likely a benign tumour associated with the uterus. But when hormonal therapy did little to diminish the growth or regulate the ape's menstrual cycle — she stopped going to the bathroom altogether — emergency medical attention was needed.

Enter "Team Sally."

Five surgeons out of University Hospital and two anesthesiologists from Children's Hospital were recruited by Boon, preparing them for the possibility of surgery.

"The veterinarian team at the zoo was very clear. They had run out of options in order to help this orangutan have the best quality of life she possibly could," said Dr. Monique Spillman, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at CU.

Then the dedicated vet called other zoos, hoping to collect enough orangutan blood should Sally need a transfusion while on the operating table.

Unfortunately, Boon didn't have enough time to collect the blood. When Sally stopped going to the bathroom, her life was suddenly in immediate danger. And there's no ape blood bank available.

"It had to be a bloodless surgery," Boon said. "It was either this would work, or this wouldn't work and it would be fatal for Sally."

Fortunately, new innovative electro-surgical instruments designed to clamp on blood vessels and prevent bleeding were donated for the procedure.

"Great apes are very similar in anatomy to humans. This is a very similar problem that's seen in women and to be able to practice our best medicine for all the animals at the zoo we really want to have this fantastic relationship with the specialists in this case," Boon said of the critically endangered apes.

A successful six-hour surgery successfully removed a cantaloupe-sized tumour, while preserving the uterus and bowel.

Within days of the surgery, Sally was her normal self again.

"She's pretty special, she's one of those few individuals that I can't even express. It's just a pleasure to work with her," keeper Cossaboon said.

Weeks later, the medical team returned to the zoo to see Sally — and meet her for the first time. (They didn't want to cause the animal anxiety in the operating room, so they didn't enter the room until anesthesia was administered.)

"It was very interesting, it was almost like she knew us, and recognized us even thought she had never met us before. And we were able to save her life. I mean that was a really, a really cool thing," Julia Embry, senior fellow with the OB-GYN department, told 9news.