First orangutan to have open heart surgery
Karen
(born 11 June 1992) is a
Sumatran orangutan
(
Pongo abelii
), who on 27 August 1994 at
San Diego Zoo
was the first orangutan to have
open heart surgery
and in 2021 was among the first non-humans to receive a
vaccine
for
COVID-19
.
Concerns for the endangered species of
Sumatran orangutan
at a time when routine open heart surgery was being performed in human babies, combined with a collaboration between San Diego Zoo and the
UC San Diego Health
, led to the planning of repairing the large
hole in the heart
in two-year-old Karen. The operation and after-care required the co-operation of more than 100 volunteers and the resulting procedure was successful and widely publicised. Karen became a favorite with zoo visitors, surviving more than 25 years.
Karen is the subject of a book by Georgeanne Irvine titled
Karen’s Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan
, published by Blue Sneaker Press in 2018.
Background
[
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]
Wild Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered.
[1]
In the 1970s,
UC San Diego Health
(UCSD) pathologist
Kurt Benirschke
, persuaded zoo trustees to establish a research department,
[2]
at the zoo's Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species,
[3]
which he subsequently led, providing the collaboration between the University and the zoo.
[2]
Orangutan and human hearts have much similarity, and open heart surgery had become routine in human babies.
[2]
Early life and family
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]
Karen, also known as "Kare-Bear",
[4]
a
Sumatran orangutan
,
[3]
was born at San Diego Zoo on 11 June 1992 to nine-year-old mother
Karta
and father Otis.
[1]
[4]
[5]
After 1995, Karta lost six infants over the course of 15 years. Observations eventually led to the discovery of Karta's difficulties in breastfeeding due to her small nipples. Her babies were either
stillborn
or could not
latch on
and therefore
failed to thrive
.
[1]
The
zookeepers
observed that Karen was not being
nursed
in the first few days of life and she was therefore removed from Karta. On reintroducing her back to Karta, no change was seen and Karen was removed again to be handraised. Karta was subsequently sent to
Adelaide Zoo
in November 1992
[5]
and Karen was adopted by orangutan Josephine.
[6]
Karen was found to have a
heart murmur
at a health check-up at the age of two,
[7]
after it was noted that she was not growing at the appropriate speed. Tests then confirmed a penny-size
hole in the heart
.
[2]
At the time, Karen weighed 22 pounds (10.0 kg) and her condition was considered fatal without surgical correction.
[3]
[6]
Heart surgery
[
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]
A surgical team led by
cardiothoracic surgeon
Stuart W. Jamieson
from UCSD repaired the defect by opening Karen's chest and heart and stitching the hole to close it.
[2]
[8]
Despite some structural variation between Karen's chest wall and that of a human, once inside the chest cavity, the surgeons felt familiar with the heart surgery. The whole procedure required the co-operation of a number of surgeons, nurses,
anaesthetists
,
medical technicians
,
veterinarians
and
animal keepers
and lasted seven hours. Jamieson reported that "If Karen were human, I'd tell her parents that everything went fine, and her prognosis is excellent".
[3]
She became the first
orangutan
to have open heart surgery.
[2]
Following the operation, Karen required carefully co-ordinated care, which involved more than 100 volunteers.
[9]
Although she suffered a lung complication, it was managed successfully
[6]
and she survived to make headlines, receiving get-well cards from all over the world.
[2]
[10]
Life after surgery
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]
Karen subsequently became a favorite with zoo visitors.
[10]
She has been described as "stubborn and willful, just like her mum",
[5]
and is said to have a signature move, where she rolls rather than walks.
[2]
Although not usually housed together, Karen, like some other orangutans is found to get along well with
siamang
gibbons.
[11]
A book about Karen was published in 2018, titled
Karen’s Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan
.
[12]
Covid-19 vaccination
[
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]
Karen was one of the first non-humans to receive a
COVID-19 vaccine
.
[13]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
Gage, Nicola (22 December 2016).
"Karta the orangutan's journey to motherhood"
.
ABC News
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Karen"
.
San Diego Zoo Centennial
. 18 March 2015
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Open-Heart Surgery Performed On Orangutan"
.
The Washington Post
. 27 August 1994.
- ^
a
b
Hoffman, Helene (6 November 2018),
"Kare-Bear"
,
Flickr
, retrieved
9 March
2019
- ^
a
b
c
Ellen, Jodie.
It takes a village....The 20 year struggle for Karta to raise an infant
(PDF)
. Adelaide Zoo. Australia.
- ^
a
b
c
Irvine, Georgeanne (2018).
Karen's Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan
. San Diego Zoo Global Press.
ISBN
9781943198047
.
- ^
"San Diego Zoo Timeline 1994 | Expansion"
.
San Diego Zoo 100
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
"SDZG Library"
.
library.sandiegozoo.org
. Retrieved
10 March
2019
.
- ^
Cunningham, Kimberly (25 September 2015).
"Animal Instinct: Saving Lives at the Zoo"
.
www.sandiegomagazine.com
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Orangutan | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants"
.
animals.sandiegozoo.org
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
Calvin, William H. (2005).
"1.Play and Play Safe"
.
Almost Us: Portraits of the Apes
. William H. Calvin. p. 18.
ISBN
9781419619793
.
- ^
"WHAT NOW? : Presidio Sentinel"
.
presidiosentinel.com
. 6 November 2018
. Retrieved
9 March
2019
.
- ^
Daly, Natasha (3 March 2021).
"First great apes at U.S. zoo receive COVID-19 vaccine made for animals"
.
National Geographic
. Archived from
the original
on March 3, 2021.
Further reading
[
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]
- Irvine, Georgeanne. (2018)
Karen's Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan
. Sneaker Press.
ISBN
1943198047
External links
[
edit
]