Doctors hopeful eagle will recover sight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
American Fork, Utah, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 8, 2012 -- PROVO, Utah — A female eagle struck by a car near Delta and given an unusual MRI at the Riverwoods Imaging Center remains blind but is responding to bright lights, a Provo veterinarian says.

"There's no change in vision," Dr. Tara Erickson said.

However, the MRI revealed no damage to the optic nerve and swelling of the brain has receded. She sent the scans to Dr.Anthony Pense of Michigan State University, a veterinarian radiologist, for further reading.

Radiologist Dr. Wendell Gibby who performed the MRI is hopeful the golden eagle, injured on Jan. 18, will recover.

A call from animal rescue volunteers at the Great Basin Wildlife Center in Mapleton to see if he could do an MRI for the bird was probably the strangest request the center has ever received. The eagle suffered head trauma and a concussion that caused the bird's brain to swell and she was blinded by the accident. The only way they could find out how severely the bird was injured was with an MRI.

Gibby's staff agreed to provide it and after surgery at the Park Animal Hospital in Provo to repair a lacerated wing, volunteer rescue personnel took the eagle in a cage to the imaging center.

"It was a fun experience," Gibby said. "I think the bird will recover. The imaging was very useful and I am hopeful that the bird's sight will return, as we did not see any brain, orbit or optic nerve damage. As such, we caution against premature throwing in the towel."

Technicians used a wrist coil around the eagle's head to focus on the damage.

"It was just a beautiful bird. I was fascinated with that," said Julie Loveridge, Gibby's administrative assistant.

The eagle was taken to an unfinished room in the newly constructed imaging center where she was given a shot to relax her. Rescue volunteers held tightly to her talons to avoid any injuries to the people working on her, Loveridge said.

Then she was taken to the MRI room where the equipment was draped to prevent contamination while the MRI was performed. Just the head was put into the machine while volunteers held her. When it was over the MRI room and equipment were scrubbed down, she said, although bird never actually came in contact with the equipment.

"It was entirely sanitary," she said. "We were excited to have this opportunity to do this. It was one of those things you could never do in a hospital,

"The people who brought her in were wonderful with her. They showed a lot of concern. It was fun to be a part of it."

The eagle is recovering at the rescue facility, but must regain some of her sight to survive. Otherwise federal rules require she be destroyed, volunteer rescue director Pattie Richards said. Rescue volunteers can work with her for six months — possibly longer with an extension.

If the eagle regains some of her sight she can then go to a zoo with an education permit. She will likely never be released into the wild unless she regains all of her sight and can prove her brain isn't scrambled through a test kill, Richards said.

Riverwoods Imaging Center is a unique facility with the ability to do high resolution, small field imaging.

"We also have a large clientele of attorneys who deal with auto and other accidents and are able to evaluate traumatic brain injury at a level not found in most routine imaging centers or hospitals," Gibby said.

animal rescue groups     bird     blind     Eagle     MRI Equipment     Pattie Richards     Riverwoods Imaging Center     Wendell Gibby