Extraction of an infected tusk in an adult African elephant
Briggs, M.; Schmidt, M.; Black, D.; Roach, R.; Opdahl, J.; Stark, G.; Owens, D.; Driver, M.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 192(10): 1455-1456
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 3391842 Document Number: 324792
An 18-year-old elephant was found to have a nonrepairable crack in its left tusk. The elephant was anaesthetized with etorphine HCl (7 mg given i/m by a hand syringe), and anaesthesia was maintained for 2 h with 10.75 mg etorphine. The tusk was removed using rotational and extractional forces, and the anaesthesia was reversed using diprenorphine. Antibiotic therapy included amoxicillin for 3 days and then procaine penicillin for 6 days, followed by 1 year of flushing the opened tusk cavity with warm tap water. Two years after surgery, the elephant was healthy, and the tusk cavity was 80% filled with normal tissue.