Giant panda in recovery after operation

A five-year-old giant panda raised at Shanghai Wild Animal Park has undergone surgery and is currently in treatment after being diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction, according to the park and the hospital facilitating the surgery.

The panda, named Qi Qi, is the 14th offspring of the giant panda Princess, the first successfully bred to survive at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.

Qi Qi was sent to hospital on Monday after displaying abnormal symptoms including fatigue, low activity and poor appetite since last Friday. The park's veterinary team carried out a clinical examination and took some action to address her symptoms.

Based on Qi Qi's body temperature, heart rate, blood work and clinical manifestations, veterinarians from the wild animal park with experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda formalized a preliminary diagnosis of intestinal obstruction.

Qi Qi then had a CT scan, which confirmed the diagnosis.

Intestinal obstruction is a rare condition in giant pandas and its pathogenesis is unknown. In an earlier incident last March, giant panda Ya Ao, also at the park, died of intestinal obstruction at the age of 18.

According to China Youth Daily, the doctor who did the CT scan thought xiongmao — meaning panda — was an unconventional human name when it popped up on the queue and didn't realize that it was a real giant panda until they met the special patient.

A group consisting of veterinarians and medical experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Renji Hospital and the park decided to carry out the operation on Qi Qi. Three medical personnel from Renji Hospital were sent to the park to assist with the surgery.

On Thursday, the hospital confirmed the operation was over. Follow-up information about Qi Qi will be released by the park.