August 18, 2016

Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine treats wallaby's dislocated hip

rochat wallaby Mark Rochat, chief of small animal surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine, and the female wallaby whose dislocated hip he repaired. (Purdue University photo/Rebecca Wilcox) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Using a device called a Tightrope™, a small animal surgery team at Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine recently treated the dislocated hip of a female wallaby from Lafayette's Columbian Park Zoo.

Wallabies are small or mid-sized marsupials, or pouched, mammals that belong to the kangaroo family and are found primarily in Australia and on nearby islands, according to National Geographic. They are usually smaller than kangaroos.

"Columbian Park Zoo called us in the spring, asking if we could help them treat a wallaby with a dislocated hip and we thought, 'Sure, why not? ' " said Mark Rochat, clinical professor and chief of small animal surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the college.

Rochat said the key to surgery on the wallaby was using the Tightrope™ to "create a new round ligament."

"We basically treated it like a dog with a hip dislocation," Rochat said. "The hip is a ball-and-socket joint and the round ligament is one of the major anatomic structures that holds the ball in the socket. The Tightrope™ is incredibly strong and its job is to take the place of the torn round ligament and hold everything in place, until scar tissue can build up and other structures damaged by the dislocation can heal."

There are some distinctions, of course, between a dog and a wallaby, Rochat said.

"The anatomy of the wallaby hip is different from the dog, which makes sense given their very different way of locomotion," he said. "It was a very interesting surgery."

And successful.

"The wallaby seems to be doing fine, and radiographs made about a month after surgery showed the Tightrope™ in place and doing its job," Rochat said.

Zoo officials appreciate the college's efforts.

"The Columbian Park Zoo's continued partnership with Purdue's veterinary college not only provides the zoo with the benefit of access to a variety of animal specialists close by, but also gives real-world experience to students," said Dana Rhodes, director of the zoo. 

Writer: Greg McClure, 765-491-9751, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: Mark Rochat, 765-496-0579, mrochat@purdue.edu

Kevin Doerr, director of public affairs and communications, College of Veterinary Medicine, 765-494-8216, doerrkr@purdue.edu

Dana Rhodes, 765-807-1541, drhodes@lafayette.in.gov

Note to Journalists: A video of the female wallaby treated by a surgical team from the Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hneklLoFpOI&feature=youtu.be

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