A team of medical professionals from the North Carolina Center for Reproductive Medicine (NCCRM) and Duke University Medical Center successfully performed a hysterectomy on a female gorilla at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro.

Drs. Sameh Toma and Gerald Mulvaney of NCCRM were contacted by veterinarians at the zoo in November 2007 to help with a diagnosis of endometrial cancer in Donna, a 39-year old Western Lowland gorilla.   During the August 27 surgery, Toma and Mulvaney were assisted by Dr. Fidel Velea, a gynecologic oncologist from Duke University Medical Center, and zoo veterinarians.

As of today, the 400-pound gorilla is nearly back to normal. "Donna is doing great. She recovered from anesthesia very quickly and began taking oral fluids and some fruit the morning after surgery," says Dr. Ryan DeVoe, Senior Veterinarian at the N.C. Zoo. "When I went to visit her I honestly couldn't tell anything had happened to her. She is one tough monkey."

Zoos around the world utilize the services of (human) medical doctors when dealing with great ape cases. The N.C. Zoo reached out to Drs. Toma and Mulvaney for help since gorilla reproductive anatomy, physiology and pathology is so similar to that of humans.

"For years, we have benefited from animal experimentation. Now we have had the opportunity to give back," said Mulvaney.  "The anatomy of the female gorilla is close enough to the human anatomy that it allows us to use our skills that have been refined over years because of large volumes of human surgeries similar to this one. This has provided a cooperative relationship between human and veterinary medicine that we encourage and hope to continue in the future."

"The zoo is buzzing with news of Donna's successful procedure and the great medical team that was here to pull it off," said DeVoe.

Click on the images above to see video and photos of the surgery provided by NCCRM and the N.C. Zoo.