Cincinnati Zoo
Gladys wearing her temporary cast.
GE Additive is working to create a custom 3D printed cast for an 11-year-old gorilla suffering from a broken arm.
Gladys underwent surgery earlier this week to repair her broken humerus, which was damaged during a scuffle with the younger two females in her troop.
A break like the one Gladys suffered is not a common injury at the Zoo, meaning vet staff enlisted the expertise of top surgeons from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and anaesthesiologists and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, with GE Additive coming in to assist with post-treatment care.
Post-surgery, Gladys was given a temporary cast to provide stability until a stronger, ‘gorilla-proof’ cast can be made. This gorilla-proof cast will be additively manufactured in titanium, which is considered to be more durable than a traditional cast and should therefore prevent Gladys from re-injuring the arm. GE Additive is expecting to have the 3D printed cast ready within a week of the initial request being made.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital/University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
“I’m amazed that the GE Additive team was able to take the requirements we provided to model the design, print, and post-process the titanium cast in such a short time,” said Dr Mike Wenninger, Cincinnati Zoo’s Director of Animal Health. “We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with human medical and engineering experts to provide the best possible care for Gladys.”
“We see this sort of fracture in kids all the time,” added Dr. Kevin Little, one of the orthopaedic surgeons from Cincinnati Children’s who helped perform the operation. “This is a bit more complicated because gorillas have a lot of muscle and bigger, denser bones. Despite these challenges, we were thrilled with the success of the operation and thankful for the multidisciplinary and cross-institutional teamwork that made it possible.”
“Gorillas hang from their arms, which is very different from a lot of the paediatric patients we care for. It’s also difficult to help Gladys understand what we have done surgically and why we need to protect the repair,” offered Dr. Jaime Denning, Orthopaedic Surgeon Liaison for Trauma at Cincinnati Children’s. “That’s why we needed to use heavier-duty equipment and a stronger cast. We look forward to seeing Gladys get back to hanging once she heals.”
GE Additive has previously worked with Cincinnati Zoo to 3D print a special feeder that encourages natural foraging behaviours in 2020.
