Python slithers to life after surgery in Kerala

Performed by KVASU, the procedure lauded as a landmark

A rare surgery on a critically injured Indian rock python has brought laurels to a Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) scientist and his team.

The surgery on the snake was done by C.B. Devanand, Professor and Head of the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. He was assisted by Sudheesh S. Nair, Soumya Ramankutty, and S. Anoop, Assistant Professors and also PG students of department.

Inhalation anaesthesia

“The surgery of a python was done on inhalation anaesthesia for the first time in the country. The gas used was Sevoflurane, a volatile, potent, safe and fast-acting anaesthetic drug.,” said Dr. Devanand.

A five-and-half-feet-long Indian rock python , weighing 10.5 kg, was rescued by forest labourers of Ponganamkadu forest range of Thrissur and brought to the veterinary surgery department of the college on November 17.

It was injured by the grass cutting blade of a lawn mower at the tail-end of its body.

“On examination, a lacerated wound — 15-cm-long and 2-inch-deep — was seen at the dorsum (the upper part of the body) and involved rupture of skin and lumbar musculature (a bundle of muscles). The terminal coelomic cavity had minor trauma with visceral organs intact.”

Over two-hour surgery

Considering the reptile’s critical condition, a surgery was planned after anaesthetising it. Sevoflurane, combined with oxygen, was administered into the lungs of python via an endotracheal tube introduced through the trachea. “The two-and-half-hour-long surgical procedure began with cleaning and freshening the wound with liberal flushing with antiseptics and saline. The suturing of muscles layer by layer was then done and finally, the skin was apposed,” said Dr. Devanand.

The recovery of the python from anaesthesia was instantaneous and uneventful. By the fifth post-operative day, the reptile showed remarkable improvement and was released to the forest on the 10th day after surgery.

The success story led to Dr. Devanand being invited to present a paper on the treatment of python at the 42nd annual congress of Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery (ISVS) held at Navsari Agricultural University in Gujrat recently.

He and his team won the gold medal for the best paper award for their presentation ‘Critical size deep lacerated wound and its surgical management in an Indian Rock Python (Python morulus)’ in the Wild and Zoo Animal Surgery session of the conference.