A POLAR bear with a recurring tooth problem had to make his second visit to the dentist this year.
Walker, a two year old polar bear from the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, had dental surgery in February to remove an infected tooth.? ”
But his problems didn’t end there as veterinary staff at the park noticed that his jaw was still oozing pus months after the operation.
After antibiotics failed to cure his infected jaw, a specialist team of vets, an anaesthetist and a dentist, were called in for the second time to attend to the polar bear’s molars.
The bear was darted with a cocktail of anaesthetic agents and it took a team 11 people to lift 58 stone Walker onto a makeshift operating table in his enclosure.
A generator was used to power the electrical equipment and a variety of surgical tools were laid out on a portable table.
The bear was then put on gas and air and had his chin shaved before x-rays were taken to identify the exact problem.
An infected bone was removed and the area was flushed out thoroughly to prevent further decay.
Park visitors looked on to the two hour operation from the enclosure’s observation tower as the polar bear’s mouth was stitched up and the surgery was completed.
