- Tiergarten is happy about Gift of the Nuremberg Clinic
- The donation is a discarded gastroscope
- The zoo and the clinic have one thing in common long-term cooperation
Gastritis, reflux, constipation, swallowed small parts: Animals also have symptoms that require an examination of the stomach, esophagus or intestines. For that you need a gastroscope. It has such a thing Nuremberg Clinic now donated to the zoo. But not only that: As the city of Nuremberg reported in a press release on Tuesday (April 18, 2023), the cooperation of the two Nuremberg institutions, also medically, for many years.
Nuremberg Zoo receives the hospital’s decommissioned gastroscope: “Sometimes the differences between humans and animals aren’t that huge after all”
When the female bottlenose dolphin Nami ate less than usual in the spring of 2022 and showed little interest in training with her keepers, the zoo called Dr. Herbert Muschweck. The former chief physician of the Nuremberg Clinic is an experienced gastroenterologist and the Tiergarten for decades closely connected. He immediately agreed, and one with his team at Nami’s gastroscopy to perform. The suspicion of the veterinarians was confirmed: Nami had an inflammation of the gastric mucosa. Thanks to the diagnosis of the specialists from the clinic, the dolphin could then be treated in a targeted manner.
That this Nuremberg Clinic zoo medicine in difficult cases again and again advisory or – as in the case of Nami – very practically supported, has been good practice for many years. And also at medical device there is a close cooperation: again and again disused gastroscopes further use in the zoo. The new one was only recently installed in the Nuremberg Clinic retiredbecause Medical Clinic 6 at the North location is modernizing its endoscopy and will be equipped with new equipment as part of this.
“We be happy us that we are very specific about the Nuremberg zoo again and again support can,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Alexander Dechêne, Chief Physician of Gastroenterology at the Nuremberg Clinic. “Even if it seems so, the differences between humans and animals are sometimes not that huge.”
From dolphins to lions: the new gastroscope will be used in a variety of ways
Veterinarian Dr. Katrin Baumgartner only underline: “The new gastroscope is a great diagnosticalso in the Tiergarten diverse use For example, a Humboldt penguin once had a stick stuck in its neck and a manatee a screw. One of the camels had an inflamed esophagus some time ago and also had to be mirrored. “But it’s not just about them Diagnosis of diseases,” emphasizes Dr. Baumgartner. “We also use the gastroscope for them, for example tuberculosis prevention such as the Malayan tapirs.”
The animal keepers practice the gastroscopy regularly with the bottlenose dolphins using a defective device, which was also donated by the Nuremberg Clinic. That is why the examination can even be carried out on them in an emergency without anesthesia carry out. “Swallowing the tube is part of veterinary training and enables us regular checks“, explains Dr. Baumgartner. Of course, things are different with gorillas, cheetahs or lions: “Unfortunately, an examination without anesthesia is not possible here.”
Also the new one gastroscope will in the future in dolphins, camels, tapirs, lions and many more other animal species used in the Nuremberg Zoo. At the Nuremberg Clinic, people are not only happy that the donation is so welcome at the zoo, but also at the inauguration of the modernized endoscopy at the Klinikum Nord site: “The know-how of the employees has been top-notch so far. Now we on one positive patient experience equipped examination rooms with everything that modern gastroenterology has to offer technically,” says Prof. Dr. Alexander Dechene. “So our patients are also well taken care of.”
