Brown bear undergoes brain surgery in UK first at Kent wildlife park

Dr Romain Pizzi performed world-first brain surgery on Wednesday on Boki the bear, ITV News Correspondent Olivia Guthrie reports

A two-year-old brown bear has undergone pioneering brain surgery in Kent, making him the first ever bear to undergo the procedure in the UK.

Specialist wildlife veterinary surgeon, Dr Romain Pizzi, operated on Boki for five hours on Wednesday.

He is the first surgeon ever to perform a similar operation on a black bear in Asia.

Boki currently lives at the Wildwood Trust's wildlife park near Canterbury, but started suffering from seizures and related health issues.

  • Boki the morning after the procedure with Jon Forde, Head of Bears, Wildwood Trust (Credit: Wildwood Trust)

An MRI scan revealed that Boki has hydrocephalus, also known as fluid on the brain.

He has been constantly monitored by keepers and the trust’s dedicated veterinary team, who have been working to improve his condition.

Following the surgery, Wildwood Trust said that Boki is awake and is "doing as well as can be expected".

The trust added that Boki is "not out of the woods" but the team looking after him are "happy with his recovery so far".

Boki will continue to be monitored closely to make sure he is responding to treatment.

  • Dr Romain Pizzi, Wildlife Veterinary Surgeon (Credit: Wildwood Trust)

Speaking after the operation, Romain, who has given his time for free to help save Boki, said the surgery had taken longer than anticipated but hoped it would give Boki the quality of life he deserves.

Romain said: "It was a similar procedure to what would have been done on a human baby except it's a 130kg brown bear.

"We made a very small cut in the top of his head and then a small window in the skull where we put a little tube with small holes in, leading into the space in the middle of the brain that allows fluid to come out.

  • Dr Elliot Simpson-Brown, Zoo Vet (Credit: Wildwood Trust)

"Then there’s a little valve that if the pressure rises will allow fluid out. We’ve buried that at the base of his ear at the front so when he scratches his ear it won’t get broken.

"Then we run the tube all the way underneath his skin into the abdomen so that when he has an episode, when pressure builds up, it will safely drain into his abdomen where it is harmlessly absorbed and recycled by the body.

"So far everything has gone as well a we can wish for so just need to see now we don’t get an infection in the brain and that he recovers from the anaesthesia and we have to wait and see if this solves the problem, which we’ll all hoping and keeping our fingers crossed it will."

Specialist wildlife veterinary surgeon, Romain Pizzi (left) performs surgery to drain fluid from Boki's brain, at Wildwood Trust in Kent. Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/PA Images

Mark Habben, Wildwood’s Director of Zoo Operations, said: "Boki is loved by absolutely everyone, not just people who have met him but those who have seen his antics online. 

"He’s really charismatic and friendly and has captured the hearts of not just the staff but every one of our supporters as well. 

"It has been our absolute priority to work out why he’s having seizures and to give him the help he needs."

Wildwood’s Director of Zoo Operations, Mark Habben, says while he is confident that surgery is Boki’s best chance to live a full life, it was not a decision made lightly.

The Wildwood Trust adopted Boki from Port Lympne Safari Park almost two years ago. Credit: Wildwood Trust

Mark said: "Boki’s welfare has always been at the forefront of every path we’ve chosen since he came to us two years ago.

"We’d hoped his condition could be managed through medication but it became evident that it was no longer giving the relief to the seizures that we had initially seen.

"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.

  • Boki at home in his enclosure at the wildlife park in Kent

"And 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."

Wildwood adopted Boki from Port Lympne Safari Park almost two years ago after he was rejected by their brown bear family.

He had been hand-reared by keepers there and has had to learn how to behave like a bear under the guidance of his new family in Herne Bay.

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