We had no idea when we agreed to take Boris into our care as a permanent resident and help to restore his sight, what a worrying
task this would be.
We spent many anxious days hoping that Boris could cope with all the
stress, and seek consolation for ourselves that it would all be worth while in the end.
On Tuesday 26th January 1999 at the Eye veterinary clinic in Hereford, Boris was whisked
away to a specially prepared theatre for his two and a half hour operation, the anaesthetist
inserted a tube into his respiratory tract by a small incision to administer the anaesthetic
which temporarily stopped Boris breathing, his responses were monitored by heart beat alone on a machine throughout the operation.
The removal of the cataracts was performed by making a tiny incision into the 14mm by
7mm oval lens of the eyes. A device spinning at 40,000 rpm turned the solid cataracts
into a liquid, a process known as phaco-emulsification, and this liquid substance was
then removed by suction. The operation has successfully restored 60% vision to his left eye, and 90% in the right
eye, but the brain and eye co-ordination took a few weeks to adjust properly, which made
him slightly disorientated.
BBC Science approached us with an interest in Boris’s plight, and the fact this was
pioneering surgery they filmed the operation for Rolf Harris’s Amazing world of animal programme which was shown
on BBC television on Sunday 19th September 1999.
Ophthalmologist vet Neil Wilson performed the post operative eye check after a
fortnight, and the eyes were healing so well we were then able to discontinue the eye
drops and daily injection treatment.
We were delighted when his progress had improved enough that he could see to fly to his
perches, and he has now moved into his new super large aviary with his new partner Pushkin.
Siberian eagle owl project