Dr Boris Vestweber examining the turtle's trachea using a bronchoscope.

A seven-strong team of hospital doctors and marine experts worked around the clock to give a stricken loggerhead turtle a fighting chance of life.

The spectacular 60kg marine creature was rescued by free divers Shaun Holland and Aaron Bean off the North Shore on December 30 and brought to the aquarium.

The stricken loggerhead turtle underwent
a CT scan at hospital to determine the
cause of her health problems.

Scans conducted at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital the next day revealed a hook deep in the turtle’s trachea that had caused her left lung to hyperinflate and right lung to partially collapse.

The turtle underwent a three-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the hook on Tuesday night and although she is still in a critical condition, is making good progress.

Experts think the turtle could have swallowed the longline hook as long as a year ago and been in pain for some time.

“She was in a pretty bad way when the guys brought her to the aquarium,” said Ian Walker, curator of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo.

Earlington Raynor and Renee Butterfield wheeling the
turtle into the Diagnostic Imaging Department.

“Loggerheads are endangered species and typically we don’t see ones this big in Bermuda.

“It was obvious she had serious breathing and buoyancy issues. We knew we had to act fast if we were to help her.”

The next morning Dr Walker contacted the diagnostic imaging department at the hospital and the turtle underwent a series of scans to determine the cause of the problem.

The scans showed her left lung was hyperinflated, while her right lung had partially collapsed and showed signs of pneumonia. They also revealed a 4cm long piece of metal at the base of the trachea partially blocking the airway.

Dr Maurene Burke examining the results of the CT scan.

“The CT scans were vital in showing us exactly where the obstruction was,” said Dr Walker. “It would have been impossible to know otherwise.

“We really appreciate the work of Earlington Raynor, the senior imaging technologist, Renee Butterfield, manager of diagnostic imaging, Maureen Burke, consultant radiologist and Daniel Stovell, the director of radiology, in getting the scans done.

Dr Boris Vestweber removing foreign
material through a tracheotomy.

“The trouble we then faced was that the hook was located down the trachea more than 12 inches from the nostrils and was blocking the left lung. From a surgical perspective the difficulty was gaining access to the area where the hook was and removing it.”

On Tuesday evening surgeon Boris Vestweber, anaesthetist Andrew Spence and surgical nurse, Andrew Westhead, from KEMH joined Dr Walker and veterinary technician Roma Hayward, senior aquarist Choy Aming and aquarist Ryan Tacklin for the operation.

Dr Vestweber initially tried to use a bronchoscope to go down the turtle’s throat and remove the hook, but the metal object was wedged in position.

Dr Boris Vestweber examining the trachea using a bronchoscope.
Dr Andrew Spence preparing to deliver IV Propofol to maintain anaesthesia.

As a result they had to turn the turtle on to her back and perform an emergency tracheotomy to remove the hook before then repairing both tissue and skin damage caused by the incision.

“It went as well as we could have hoped,” Dr Walker said. “The turtle is still in a critical condition, and is certainly not out of the woods yet but has a much greater chance of survival as a result of the surgery. After the operation she was monitored around the clock by our staff and we were able to put her in water again by the morning.

“I’m cautiously optimistic at the moment, but we still have a long way to reaching a point where we can release her back to the wild again.”

Senior aquarist Choy Aming and
volunteer intern Douglas Bryant taking
turtle back to the aquarium.

Dr Spence added: “It’s certainly the first time I have ever had a turtle as a patient, and was an extremely different procedure from my normal day.

“But the spirit of co-operation and seeing how everyone stayed well beyond the time they could go home was very rewarding.

“It is lovely to be able to give this turtle a chance of life again and it was truly a team effort.”

Dr Walker told The Royal Gazette the case highlight the dangers longline fishing posed to turtles.

The stricken loggerhead turtle was
rescued from the sea by Shaun
Holland and Aaron Bean.

He said: “It may well be that this turtle swallowed the hook a year ago and has been swimming around ever since in a great deal of pain.

“The trouble is that when fishermen accidentally catch turtles on longline hooks they simply cut the line and throw them back in the sea — this seems to have been what happened to this animal with potentially fatal consequences.”