Texas tiger dies after heart operation

Karma, the first tiger known to have had open heart surgery, died of complications following the operation

December 11, 2000
Web posted at: 11:24 AM EST (1624 GMT)

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Reuters) -- The first tiger known to have had open heart surgery died of complications following the operation, veterinarians at Texas A&M University said on Sunday.

They said the lungs of the five-month-old tiger known as Karma filled up with fluid and he died seven hours after the surgery on Saturday to repair a congenital heart defect.

"We were pleased overall with how Karma did in surgery, however, we were very concerned with his lung capacity and ability to breathe," Terry Fossum, chief of surgery at Texas A&M's college of veterinary medicine, said in a statement.

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"Karma's lungs filled with fluid and we were not able to save him. We are not certain if this was a response to the procedure, the medicine, or other complications," Fossum said.

Karma, who lived in a wildlife refuge in east Texas, had a hole in his heart that likely would have killed him in a few months, doctors said. He was short of breath and, even at 45 pounds (20 kg), had stunted growth.

The five-hour surgery performed on Karma has become fairly routine for humans, but requires that the patient be placed on a heart-lung machine -- which had never been done to a tiger, veterinarians said.

Assisting Fossum was Charles Fraser, chief of cardiovascular surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

The surgery originally was to have been performed at Texas Children's because Texas A&M said it did not have the proper equipment, but it was moved to the university for reasons that were not disclosed.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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