Orangutan at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance receives specialized surgery from Denver Health doctor

Dr. Andrew Maertens from Denver Health is a hand and microvascular surgeon and works at one of the busiest Level I trauma hospitals in the area. Three weeks ago he got a case unlike any other.  

Hesty is a 14-year-old, roughly 120 pound primate at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance. The orangutan recently injured herself during a scuffle with a family member. Spencer Kehoe is a certified specialist in zoological medicine and works at the zoo. Hesty is his patient and after the scuffle, he reached out to Denver Health in hopes of getting some specialized care for Hesty.

"I explained that I was a veterinarian at the Denver Zoo calling about an orangutan and the person who was helping me on the phone was very polite but was like 'I'm sorry can you repeat that?'" Kehoe said.

Maertens was the surgeon who responded, and ultimately it was he and a team of others who agreed to take on the operation.

"She had sustained multiple fractures to her feet and hands. Open fractures we call it -- basically, when the bone is sticking out of the skin -- as well as a large wound to her left elbow," Maertens said.

It turned out that the operation wasn't all that different from performing an operation on a human.

"It's remarkably similar," Maertens said. 

Kehoe was beside him during the surgery and was ready to provide answers to any species-specific questions.

The result was successful surgery.

"It went seamlessly. It went very smooth," Kehoe said.

The operation provided Hesty with her best scenario for healing.

"There was a lot of factors that went into it, but mostly it was giving her the best chance of a full recovery and to return to full function," Kehoe said.

During a recent post-surgery checkup at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Maertens and Kehoe observed Hesty in her indoor habitat.

"It's hard to tell if she's just protecting it or what. but her elbow looks awesome," Maertens said.