NATIONAL NEWS - A macaw with a broken-off beak has been given a new lease of life, thanks to a 3D-printed beak produced by a team at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) veterinary science faculty.
The team was led by professor Gerhard Steenkamp, a veterinary specialist in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery at the faculty.
Max, a blue and gold macaw from a bird sanctuary in the Western Cape, lost his beak after getting into two scuffles with other macaws, during which his beak was first damaged, then ripped off a few years ago.
Max’s surgery was held recently at the Robberg Veterinary Clinic in Plettenberg Bay.
Local vet doctor Brendan Tindall administered the anaesthesia while Steenkamp attached the prosthesis and former UP professor and specialist prosthodontist professor Cules van Heerden assisted.
“Max is doing well,” said Steenkamp, who was recently part of a team that performed the first CT scan on a live adult rhino at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital.
“No complications have been seen so far.”
The macaw’s owner, Trevor Glover, said that within a day of surgery Max was eating solid pieces of food.
“Max was brought to the sanctuary in 2017 after his owner moved overseas.”
Max, who is around 20 years old, and the broken-off beak were taken to Tindall for treatment and evaluation.
“The doctors could get Max to eat soft food."
Trouble, however, struck a few months later as the bottom of Max’s beak continued to grow straight out, with nothing to wear it down.
“The bottom of Max’s beak grew longer than his tongue; this prevented him from reaching his food.”
Glover decided to take the bird to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital for a CT scan to determine whether there was enough remaining beak and bone for a prosthetic to be attached.
“The CT scanner at Onderstepoort could not produce enough detail; so arrangements were made to have Max scanned by Dr Craig Muller of Eugene Marais Radiology,” said Steenkamp.
“I also took impressions of the remaining beak to make sure that the prospective printed beak would fit onto the remaining stump. Both the impressions and CT scan were sent to Philip van der Walt of BunnyCorp, which proceeded to develop and draw the beak. Once we had the final drawings, the search began for someone to print the beak and make the particular screws for us.”
But then the pandemic brought things to a standstill for nearly two years.
“The beak was subsequently printed by the centre for rapid prototyping and manufacturing at Central University of Technology, using additive manufacturing and a drill guide in nylon.”
The Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation funded the manufacture of the prosthetic beak, while the national Department of Science and Onnovation funded the MedAdd project, providing the latest additive manufacturing technology.
What made the beak different was that they had to develop three anchors that passed through the printed beak, all the way across the beak and locked into the prosthesis on the far end.
“This locking mechanism has never been described in birds,” said Steenkamp.
He explained that moulds of the stump had to be made several times to check if the beak stump had changed.
The surgery lasted just over an hour.
“It is amazing what can be achieved with 3D printing,” he said.
“I am happy to have been part of the team that has given Max a second chance in life and would like to thank our industry partners.”
Max has since returned home to a special aviary that Glover has built for him.
“Max has gone back to relatively normal behaviour such as eating, flying and climbing as he did before the injury,” said Glover.
“I am very grateful for the help, kindness, advice and dedication given by the team.”
