Bear's pioneering brain surgery 'has gone to plan'

Life-saving brain surgery on a brown bear has gone to plan, according to a wildlife trust.

Boki, a brown bear at the Wildwood Trust, near Canterbury, Kent, is thought to have undergone the first operation of its kind in the UK.

He had his operation on Wednesday after an MRI scan in Surrey revealed he had hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain.

Trust director Paul Whitfield told BBC Radio Kent: "We're waiting for the procedure to be completely finished, but it looks like everything has gone to plan."

The two-year-old bear had been suffering from seizures and related health issues.

The surgery took five-and-a-half hours, compared to the expected two-and-a-half hours.

Romain Pizzi, the first surgeon to perform a similar operation on a black bear in Asia, had agreed to operate at the Wildwood Trust.

Mark Habben, the trust's director of zoo operation, said: "There's no one better than Romain to perform this operation - an absolute leader in his field and one of the most innovative wildlife surgeons in the world."

A Facebook post from Wildwood Kent said that "without this surgery (Boki) would not survive the winter".

Before the surgery the trust said: "After consulting with medical experts and considering at length the ethics of this surgery, we believe wholeheartedly this is the best chance of providing a healthy and enriched life for Boki."

It added that the surgery and immediate aftercare for Boki would cost £20,000.

As of Tuesday night, the trust had received £7,000 in donations to go towards Boki's treatment.

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