It took a huge team to extract the huge 1.7kg stone from elephant Sai Thong’s body (Picture: Viral Press)
It took a team of more than 20 vets to remove the world’s largest gallstone from the body of an elephant.
Workers at an elephant camp in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, became concerned after Sai Thong lost her appetite, was struggling to go to the toilet and collapsed with severe stomach ache.
Vets from Kasetsart University in Bangkok were called in to examine the three-tonne animal, but it was thought she was just struggling with old age.
But when medics performed an endoscopy last week, they were shocked to find a 20cm by 15cm stone inside her gallbladder.
They operated on her the same day, by tying her on a harness attached to a crane to stop her from falling over after being given anaesthetic.
It took six hours for the huge team to extract the stone from her gallbladder – weighing a massive 1.7kg.
Associate Professor Dr Nikorn Thongthip, part of the team that operated on Sai Thong, said it was only the second time in the world that a gallstone had been removed from an elephant.
‘This is only the second case in the world of a gallstone being removed from an elephant,’ he added.
Sai Thong lost her appetite, was struggling to go to the toilet and collapsed with severe stomach ache (Picture: Viral Press)
‘The first time, we performed a similar surgery on Kham Moon, a 45-year-old male elephant.
‘However the case of Sai Thong is different, as we removed one big gallstone weighing 1.7kg. In the case of Kham Moon, we removed over 162 small gallstones weighing a total of 8kg.’
Dr Thongthip said the operation was a ‘breakthrough’ for the international veterinary community, and said they will share their knowledge on treating large animals across the world.
But due to the huge blockage in her bladder, Sai Thong had contracted an infection and almost suffered acute kidney failure.
She was given blood transfusions after the operation.
‘I am relieved that we were able to treat her before the infection became acute. The operation was successful thanks to everyone’s efforts,’ added Dr Thongthip.
Elephants are the national animal of Thailand, and around 2,000 of them live in the wild. A similar number live in captivity including sanctuaries and zoos, or work privately for hire at weddings and festivals.