Vets in Australia have operated on a Tasmanian devil for the first time for a cataract – restoring sight to the animal named “Derrick”. The eleven-month-old cub is hand-raised by the Aussie Ark organization in a sanctuary near Sydney. The organization said his carer noticed small white dots in his protégé’s eyes some time ago. The spots had grown so quickly that Derrick could hardly see. A vet diagnosed cataracts.
With the disease, the lens in the eye gradually becomes cloudy. As a result, the eyesight decreases, those affected see as if through a veil. If left untreated, cataracts can also lead to blindness. The eye disease is relatively common in older people. According to studies, about 20 percent of 65- to 74-year-olds are affected, and among those over 74 it is already more than 50 percent. Dogs also often develop cataracts, but the disease has never been observed in Tasmanian devils, according to the Australian animal welfare organization.
To save Derrick from going blind, doctors at the Eye Clinic for Animals in Sydney performed what is now classically used for cataracts. They sucked out the core of the lens using a cannula stimulated with ultrasound, and then inserted an artificial lens. As a result, the Tasmanian devil’s eyesight has improved again: ‘He’s fine! He has passed all tests by his veterinary team,” said a spokesman for Aussie Ark.
Tasmanian devils, also known as Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) called, now only live on the Australian island of Tasmania. Since the animals were on the verge of extinction after intensive hunting, they have been protected since 1941. (dam)