Crow with cancer flies again after surgery in Dindigul

The bird is free and flying again and the surgical procedure remains a testament to the availability of treatment to pet animals in small towns in Tamil Nadu.

A crow with a tumorous growth on its right wing was treated successfully by a veterinarian in Dindigul. The bird is free and flying again and the surgical procedure remains a testament to the availability of treatment to pet animals in small towns in Tamil Nadu.

“One of my clients brought the crow, which he used to feed. It had a growth weighing 100 grams. I surgically removed the cancerous growth. After being treated as an ‘in-patient’ with antibiotics for a week it was set free,” said A. Jayaraj, the veterinarian.

Jagadeesan Ramamurthy, who brought the crow for treatment, said the bird was a regular visitor to his father’s residence at Dindigul. “It could not fly because of the growth on the wings and it is doing well now. Even today he is visiting my father’s place,” he said.

Dr. Jayaraj said even though the surgical procedure to remove the tumour was over by 20 minutes, he had to perform it carefully and complete in the stipulated time.

“We use an extremely small amount of anaesthesia before going ahead with the surgery in the case of small birds. What is equally important is that it should be completed quickly,” said Dr. Jayaraj, who also surgically set right the broken wings of a parrot chick.

He said the chick had broken its right wing (humerus bone) after falling down from a tree and the wings were repaired through intramedullary pinning, an ortho surgical procedure.

“I made a hole in the bones with the help of a drilling machine and pinned together the broken parts. It is like fixing steel in the case of fracture in humans,” he said.