Abstract

Complications secondary to buoyancy disorder are a significant cause of morbidity in sea turtles and contribute to negative anthropogenic encounters in the wild, such as boat strikes and fishing gear entanglements.¹ Management of these complications in a hospital setting can be difficult due to frequent concomitant systemic illness and visceral trauma, among others, which contribute to the pathological accumulation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract, the coelomic cavity, or both. Enterocentesis is a common technique used to manage buoyancy disorder in these cases; however, in adult sea turtles, access to the proximal gastrointestinal tract is not always available because of the animal’s size. We report here a novel technique that describes enterocentesis via transplastron access in an adult loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) with suspected intestinal obstruction.

An adult male 95-kg loggerhead sea turtle presented caudally buoyant with alternate side listing. Routine workup revealed significant gas accumulation in the gastrointestinal tract and initial management included fluid therapy and broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Endoscopic evaluation of 1.4 m of the distal gastrointestinal tract revealed no abnormalities. Orogastric administration of mineral oil (180 mL) and prokinetic drug therapy did not diminish gastrointestinal distension, so a decision was made to attempt transplastron enterocentesis. The turtle was positioned with its left side raised to a 75° angle so any gas-filled intestinal segments were most likely to be positioned at the lateral margin of the coelomic cavity. Ultrasonic-guided introduction of a needle (2 in, 20 g) attached to an extension line, 3-way stopcock, and 60-cc syringe was used to access the intestinal lumen via the connective tissue lateral to the 3rd inframarginal scute. Approximately 10.3 L of gas was evacuated without complication, and the turtle was returned to its tank for observation. Within 15 minutes, the turtle was neutrally buoyant, and within 12 hours, it was resting on the tank bottom without effort. The turtle continued to exhibit normal surfacing, diving, and resting behavior and was released 111 days after enterocentesis and 151 days of total hospital stay.

Transplastron enterocentesis provided alleviation of gastrointestinal distension and positive buoyancy in an adult male loggerhead sea turtle, which returned to normal function and was subsequently released. This technique offers an additional method for safely evacuating gas from the proximal gastrointestinal tract of large adult sea turtles, whose size and anatomy would otherwise prevent access. This report has implications for improving treatment of buoyancy disorder in sea turtles and increasing the likelihood of successful release.

*Presenting author
+Student presenter

Literature Cited

1.  Manire CA, Norton TM, Walsh MT. 2017. Buoyancy disorders. In: Sea Turtle Health and Rehabilitation. Manire CA, Norton TM, Stacy BA, Innis CJ, Harms CA (eds.) J. Ross Publishing: Plantation, FL, USA:689–705.