Spirit's
injury was a gangrenous toe. It
was removed by Dr. William Streit on February 28, 2004 and the
procedure went perfectly with no complications.
Had it been one of the
three forward facing toes, Spirit would have
been a candidate for release, but because it was the Halux (the rear
facing "thumb"), the prognosis for survival in the wild was
poor.
Here
Dr. Streit goes to work with the assistance of TRAC Executive Director
Wendy Perrone and Vice Chair Dr. J. D. Carpenter.
Closeup of Spirit under
anesthesia .
Toe has been removed and wound is sutured.
Spirit is waking up in Wendy's arms.
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