This lion was declawed as a baby so tourists could take pictures with him. 13 years later, he's paralyzed after suffering from multiple infections. Brut followed Léo the lion as he underwent a life-saving surgery ...
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00Let's try to stabilize this.
00:02Put it on my head.
00:05What's the difficulty today?
00:07It's clearly the size of this animal.
00:10Is this the last chance operation?
00:12Last chance, yes, that's it, the last hope.
00:20We're going to do the stitches to sedate him,
00:23to put him to sleep, to take him to the operating room.
00:26It's going to take 10 to 15 minutes, 20 minutes for him to fall asleep.
00:30Leo is a bit of an emblem of the Tanière.
00:32He's one of the first animals to arrive.
00:35The Tanière is a retirement home, a hospital,
00:38a shelter for animals that don't have any, that no longer have any.
00:41Let's go.
00:44Leo and Zampa are two animals that we recovered at the Spain Fur Foundation.
00:48All babies were removed at the time.
00:50They had a big wound.
00:51To castrate babies, which is something you shouldn't do,
00:53so they don't have a cranium.
00:54And above all, they were beheaded by charlatans,
00:56so it affected them a lot.
00:58They were used for 3 to 4 months to take pictures on the beach,
01:01in the night and in the evening.
01:03They also have problems with cataracts, etc., because of the flashes.
01:06And then, because of bacterial infections,
01:10which could have been caused by his claws,
01:12he developed a calcification bubble,
01:15there could be several here,
01:17which prevents the spine from functioning normally.
01:21So he's paralyzed from the back.
01:24If we ever had to lose Leo,
01:27it would be a hard time for him.
01:29We already had a hard time with Leo,
01:31but now it would be very difficult.
01:34Veterinarian?
01:36Yes, doctor.
01:38Is Pupi still dilating?
01:41Yes, doctor.
01:46How is he?
01:48He's still a bit...
01:49Yes, yes, I know.
01:50Be careful.
01:52The leg, the leg.
01:57The leg.
02:05This is the last chance for him.
02:08The last chance, yes, that's it.
02:10The last hope.
02:11It works or it doesn't.
02:14There is also a risk that we make the decision to wake him up.
02:18If what we discover is too complicated.
02:23One leg here, one leg in front.
02:25One leg here, one leg in front.
02:32Now we are doing the pre-operation.
02:36We intubate him,
02:38we put catheters.
02:40The idea is to stabilize all access routes,
02:43both venous and aerial,
02:45for anesthesia.
02:47In case of emergency,
02:50to be able to put him to sleep
02:53or wake him up if there is a problem.
03:01Today we have the greatest veterinarian in France
03:05who is here to try this operation.
03:08We disinsert everything that is on the pin.
03:10We tilt the musculature like this.
03:12We take the shoulder and we turn it completely.
03:16We disinsert the big rhomboid muscle
03:18that holds the shoulder in its upper part.
03:21The scapula being free,
03:23we can tilt it like this.
03:25This allows us to reach the rachis by lateral way,
03:28on an animal of this size,
03:30which is of an incredible length.
03:32On the other hand, there is a post-operative
03:35where the animal hardly uses his front leg.
03:44It's better, isn't it? It's much better.
03:51Where is he?
04:04How long will it last?
04:06Five hours.
04:13Normally, 99% of the time,
04:16it will happen.
04:18After that, there will be very big interventions.
04:23With me, Sommier, we were very clear.
04:25He told me, depending on what I saw
04:27and what he told me, I would tell you.
04:29But after that, it's the first.
04:35The operation went very well.
04:37He spent six hours on the table.
04:39He slept a little before and after.
04:41As soon as he wakes up, he dreams a little,
04:43he has nightmares, he doesn't suffer,
04:45he is often asleep.
04:48And if everything goes well,
04:50in three or four weeks,
04:52he should be able to find a normal life.
04:54Fingers crossed for him.
05:00Bravo Piccolino, bravo!