Health

Surgeons remove 4-pound hairball from tiger

By Michelle Castillo

May 23, 2013 / 2:53 PM EDT / CBS News

Ty the tiger needed some help when he created a giant, basketball-sized hairbal (pictured)l that couldn't be coughed up.

Luckily, surgeons at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Clearwater, Fla. were able to successfully remove the over 4-pound hairball on May 22, 2013. Keep clicking to see how.

Ty was brought in on May 20, 2013 after he had not eaten for two weeks. The tiger resides at Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc., a non-profit organization that helps Florida law enforcement house animals that have been seized.

Dr. Brian Luria, a Blue Pearl internal medicine specialist, performed an ultrasound, took X-rays and used a scope with a camera to find out what was going on. That's when the giant hairball was discovered. It was too large to move with the scope, so surgery was necessary.

Ty the tiger before surgery at BluePearl Veterinary Partners specialty and emergency hospital in Clearwater, Fla., on May 22, 2013.

Dr. Mike Reems, a board-certified surgeon with BluePearl Veterinary Partners, scrubs in before surgery.

Ty is shaved prior to his procedure.

Dr. Mike Reems, a board-certified surgeon with BluePearl Veterinary Partners and Dr. Don Woodman with Animal Hospital of Northwood perform surgery on a tiger to remove a 4-pound hairball.

The tiger's hairball is successfully removed.

A basketball-size, 4 pound, hairball that was removed from the stomach of a tiger at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Clearwater, Fla.

Surgeons operate on Ty the tiger to remove his over 4-pound hairball.

Ty the tiger's surgical team.

"I'm just extremely thankful for the help Dr. Woodman, Dr. Reems and the staff at BluePearl provided," said Vernon Yates, founder of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc., said in a press release.

Michelle Castillo

Michelle Castillo is an associate editor for CBSNews.com.

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