FORT WORTH – By now you may have heard, history was made at the Fort Worth Zoo.
The zoo announced this week that a baby gorilla was born in January via a cesarean section – a surgery that was performed by a doctor that typically operates on humans.
CBS News Texas’ Madison Sawyer spoke with the doctor who performed the surgery, but this wasn’t their first time meeting.
Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin, a local OB-GYN, has been helping the zoo with a complicated situation.
In January, zoo keepers told Dr. Erwin that their pregnant gorilla, named Sekani, was seen displaying unusual behaviors like holding her head. They suspected she might have headaches, a sign of preeclampsia, a potentially fatal pregnancy complication for mom and baby.
Testing confirmed the diagnosis and Dr. Erwin started making calls to assemble a team.
It was a top secret operation, Dr. Erwin said.
Much like patient-physician privacy, think primates-physician privacy.