GAP Sanctuary, Brazil

Last saturday, march 29th, in the Sanctuary of Great Primates in Sorocaba, the team of the Eye Clinic of Sao Paulo, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Walton Nose, one of the great brazilian specialist on human ophtalmology, gave back vision to Hulk’s left eye. Hulk, a 33 years old chimp, was sucessfully operated in less than 20 minutes in order to recuparate part of the vision which he lost completly over 15 years ago.

Hulk was a chimp used in circus and in human entretaiment through exposition with small animals as well as pictures with kids and people in general. Blind and with the teeth having been taken all out in a circus at some point in his life, Hulk was fragil and did not represent danger to the public.

The old surgical method still used in animals is complex since the after surgery precautions made the surgery fail. Using the last technology of Human Opthalmology, Professor Nose, who in spite never had operated a chimp knew that the chimp eye was similar to the human eye, operated Hulk. Professor Nose brought his surgical center to Sorocaba and operated in the sanctuary’s clinic.

In less than 24hours after the surgery, Hulk saw. He was able to resee the world his mind probably had forgotten due to the several years he was submitted to total darkness. The right eye seems to be irrecoverable due to a chronic infection he had several years ago. Professor Nose’s plan was to implant a lense inside Hulk’s eye, so he could recover 100% of the vision but the cristaline was not stable and so he decided to remove the catarat, recuperating 30% of his vision. Hulk will have to use glasses in order to reach 100% vision until Professro Nose tries another alternative surgery in the near future in case it is possible.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
Director – GAP Project