Abstract

This giraffe patient was newborn. It weighed only 48 kg and was measured to be 160 cm tall. On the sixth day of life, an 8-mm corneal lesion was found on the giraffe’s right eye, causing the eye to be swollen and to discharge ocular fluid. The giraffe was tranquilized with 5 mg xylazine (Tranquived Injection, VEDCO, Inc., St. Joseph, MO, USA) by intramuscular injection, then given isoflurane (IsoFlo, Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL, USA) to induce (5%) and maintain (2.5%) the anesthesia. A third eyelid flap was positioned to protect the corneal lesion. After 1 mo the cornea received another wound from suture friction. Temporary tarsorrhaphy was performed during a second surgery to address this problem. Two months later the suture was removed and the eye was completely recovered.