Veterinary college surgeons fix metal plate on fractured snout to save endangered gharial in Chennai

Chennai: In a rare and delicate procedure, surgeons at Madras Veterinary College (MVC) saved a critically endangered gharial by fixing a metal plate onto its fractured upper snout. They adapted a technique typically used on dogs to treat a reptile with no surgical precedent.The five-year-old crocodile, a gavialis gangeticus, housed at Chennai Snake Park Trust (CSPT) in Guindy, sustained the injury on its upper snout in a fight. The damage was extensive, and the stakes were high. The Gangetic gharial is a critically endangered species, making every individual's survival ecologically significant.A surgical team led by professor Md Shafiuzama, head of the surgery department at MVC, conducted a thorough radiographic and CT analysis before operating on the reptile under general anaesthesia. Their chosen method was the supercutaneous plating (SCP) technique, a minimally invasive orthopaedic procedure traditionally used for traumatic bone injuries in dogs. It involves applying locking plates above the skin rather than embedding them internally, thereby avoiding extensive soft tissue dissection. The technique preserves blood supply, reduces surgical trauma and promotes faster bone healing.In the crocodile's case, however, the adaptation required a creative leap. The absence of loose skin or muscle tissue around the jaw made internal placement impossible. The surgical team instead secured the plate externally along the snout, providing the structural support the fractured jaw needed without compromising surrounding tissue. Surgeons said no other technique could have reliably restored the jaw to its original condition. The animal is currently under post-surgical care at CSPT, where it remains in isolation. Since the crocodile is temporarily unable to feed on its own, staff are force-feeding it as it regains strength. Within a month, the external plate will be removed and replaced with a plate positioned beneath the snout.