Ground-breaking : Faculty vets and maxillofacial surgeon successfully lengthen broken jaw of chimp

Abstract

In what is known to be a first of its kind, Dr Gerhard Steenkamp and Dr Katja Koeppel from the Onderstepoort Faculty of Veterinary Science in South Africa together with a maxillofacial surgeon, Dr Frits Hoogendijk succeeded in surgically lengthening the misaligned jaw of an adult male chimpanzee. Claude, a 15-year-old chimpanzee living at Chimp Eden, a South African chimpanzee sanctuary affiliated with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), had trouble eating properly. He came to Chimp Eden in 2010 from the Central African Republic where he was a victim of the bushmeat trade and kept as a pet. He was isolated in a small cage made of cement and bars, with no trees or grass to enrich his life. Rescuers were made aware of Claude and the JGI was contacted.