Dr. Shah assists with rare gorilla C-section at Woodland Park Zoo
A gorilla and her newborn are recovering after a rare cesarean section was performed with the help of local medical teams. Dr. Sachita Shah of the Department of Emergency Medicine was among the physicians who assisted in the procedure on Olympia, a western lowland gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo.
According to zoo staff, Olympia was five days past her due date when an ultrasound indicated potential complications. As a result, Dr. Tim Storms, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo, assembled a team of medical consultants to determine the best course of action.
Shah, who is also a sonographer with Butterfly Network, worked alongside a surgical team from Swedish Medical Center and King County Medic One. The team performed an ultrasound and determined that decreased amniotic fluid combined with an incompletely dilated cervix indicated nonproductive labor, meaning Olympia would be unable to deliver her baby without intervention.
"Having the ultrasound information from Butterfly to follow the changes in amniotic fluid, positioning and fetal heart rate that indicated the need for a critical intervention allowed us to share information and mobilize quickly," said Shah. "When the baby was born, we used the probe to guide neonatal critical care and resuscitation. It was amazingly well coordinated to have everyone seeing the same information on the screen to guide shared decision-making with Woodland Park Zoo's animal health and gorilla care teams."
According to zoo staff, Olympia's baby is doing well and maintaining a healthy body temperature. Olympia is also recovering, and once she shows signs that she is ready, zoo staff plan to reunite mother and son.
Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
This is Olympia's second baby. She joins new mother Jamani, who recently gave birth to a baby boy. The two mothers also gave birth to sons just weeks apart in 2012 while living together at the North Carolina Zoo, where they successfully raised their offspring together.
You can read much more about Olympia and the birth on the Woodland Park Zoo's blog.
