ANIMAL KINGDOM : Kangaroo Gets a Pacemaker
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SAN FRANCISCO — Skippy, a once-lethargic red kangaroo at the San Francisco Zoo, finally has a heart that doctors hope keeps her hopping.
The 7 1/2-year-old marsupial was recovering today after receiving the first pacemaker ever implanted in a zoo animal.
Veterinarians discovered the middle-aged roo’s slow-beating heart a few weeks ago while treating a small abscess on her right foot. Her condition deteriorated, and she was near death Sunday.
On Monday night, three heart surgeons from UC San Francisco, helped by four anesthesiologists from Stanford University, put the two-ounce pacemaker into Skippy’s neck.
Before the surgery, the 80-pound animal’s heart registered between 18 and 40 beats a minute, far below the normal rate of 125 to 150, said Mike Sulak, zoo curator of mammals.
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