Elephant Calf Dies Just Short of Groundbreaking Surgery - East Idaho News

Elephant Calf Dies Just Short of Groundbreaking Surgery

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GETTY W 012412 BabyElephantLola?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1327467301928At just 25 days old, baby elephant called Lola plays in her enclosure at Munich Zoo Hellabrunn on Nov. 22, 2011 in Munich, Germany. Nadine Rupp/Getty Images(MUNICH) — A baby elephant at a German zoo who suffered from heart problems has passed away.  Lola would’ve been the world’s first elephant to have heart surgery to remove a blood clot, but died during preparations for the operation.  At just three months, during a CTA scan, the calf suffered from a pulmonary embolism and could not be revived.

Zoo director and veterinarian Dr. Andreas Knieriem commented on Lola’s tragic death to the UK’s Daily Mail: “Considering the pathology, it has to be said it’s a miracle that she lived as long as she did. Her arteries were so blocked that blood couldn’t flow through her lungs anymore.”

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