Any tips for intubating a gorilla

[OTCAwesome]

Hey guys, I'm an anesthesiologist and have been tasked with intubating a gorilla at the zoo this coming weds. Do you have any idea what I should expect anatomically, what kind of blade you used etc.

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[dyachei]

it's my understanding that gorilla anatomy is more similar to human anatomy than many other animals. I would suspect that intubation will be more similar to your experiences than many here.

(this is coming from my n=1 of being involved in a gorilla dental exam and echo under anesthesia)

 

[OTCAwesome]

it's my understanding that gorilla anatomy is more similar to human anatomy than many other animals. I would suspect that intubation will be more similar to your experiences than many here.

(this is coming from my n=1 of being involved in a gorilla dental exam and echo under anesthesia)

Thanks, do you happen to remember what blade they used to intubate, or did they use a fiberoptic? Sweet avatar btw

 

[dyachei]

Thanks, do you happen to remember what blade they used to intubate, or did they use a fiberoptic? Sweet avatar btw

I want to say they used a larger curved blade but it's been almost 7 years

 

[variegata]

I haven't personally anesthetized or intubated a gorilla, but with the great apes in general, the typical concerns sound like things you'd be familiar with from human medicine. Primates like to laryngospasm, hypersalivate and regurgitate during intubation; you may want to apply topical lidocaine before attempting. Animal should be in dorsal recumbency with the head and neck extended, or in lateral with the head and neck in the same position. The texts suggest using a larger Mac blade. The trachea is short, and adult male gorillas and orangs may have a lot of excess laryngeal tissue. Male orangutans have laryngeal air sacs that can complicate intubation; I'm not sure whether gorillas do.

If your institution has library access to Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine or West's Zoo Animal and Wildlife Immobilization and Anesthesia, those are probably the more comprehensive sources out there.

 

[mw18]

This is the best thread on sdn.

 

[Doctor-S]

Hey guys, I'm an anesthesiologist and have been tasked with intubating a gorilla at the zoo this coming weds. Do you have any idea what I should expect anatomically, what kind of blade you used etc.

I'd like to hear about how you handle the gorilla intubation. Wondering how similar it might be to human medicine. Hoping you post something in this thread after surgery.

 

[Chetamine]

I would talk with Mark Greenberg at UCSD, he has been helping out at the San Diego Zoo for over 20 years. I have no experience with gorillas but, I have intubated a number of sea lions.

Animal Instinct: Saving Lives at the Zoo

 

[LetItSnow]

(No real advice, having not done it, but....)

.... I wonder about the ET tube size. I imagine intubation itself would be similar to humans (best done dorsal - 'upside down' for most veterinarians - with blade up and fiberoptic if possible), but somewhere along the way I seem to recall the great apes have a much larger lung volume than we do. That would imply a bigger ET tube, which might make it even more difficult than a person given the propensity for laryngospasm, etc.

Anyway. No real knowledge - I work with cats 'n dogs, where intubation is super easy - but I'm curious for details of how you do it and how it goes. Trickiest things I've ever intubated are rabbits and an alpaca, and both really are pretty easy if you do it right.