OSU diagnoses popular harbor seal with esophageal ulcer

Boots the harbor seal being prepped by veterinary professionals (Image courtesty of Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine)

The staff at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport noticed its popular harbor seal, 35-year-old Boots, was having problems with swallowing and keeping her food down. The staff, worried it was a cancerous growth in her throat, treated her and performed an ultrasound, X-ray, and blood tests in the spring but her symptoms did not improve so they reached out Oregon State University’s Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital (OSU) to get more testing done.

At OSU, Oregon Coast Aquarium veterinarian Dan Lewer, DVM worked with Anna Wepprich, DVM, and anesthesiologists Ron Madsager, DVM, DACVAA, and Andrew Claude, DVM, DACVAA, to anesthetize Boots and perform a CT scan of her throat.

Boots was then sent to OSU assistant professor of small animal Stacie Summers, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, and resident Yanick Couture, DVM, for an endoscopic exam. There, they found a mass of necrotic tissue and took a sample where was analyzed by Susan J. Tornquist, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVP, dean of OSU’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. After analysis, it was determined Boots was suffering from a severe esophageal ulcer and not cancer.

“This was good news: We found something we can treat in theory, and this animal will get relief because of the diagnostic capabilities at Oregon State,” said Lewer, an alumnus of OSU’s veterinary college. “It would not have been possible to make this diagnosis without the team in its entirety today — the imaging, anesthesia, internal medicine and clinical pathology teams all were vital in making this diagnosis.”¹

To help Boots, Wepprich had to insert a catheter between her vertebrae and was placed on a ventilator because harbor seals struggle to breathe on their own when they are under anesthesia. This then allowed them to perform the CT and other procedures necessary while also keeping boots safe.

In addition to the veterinarians treating Boots, it was estimated that 30 veterinary students were able to observe parts of the procedures being done to help Boots, giving them the chance to learn more on the challenges faced when providing care for harbor seals.

“This is really cool for me; we don’t see a lot of nontraditional animals at the hospital,” said Maddie Barrett, a 4-year veterinary student who did an externship at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in 2022. “As someone who loves exotic animals and marine mammals in particular, it’s been really special to be a part of this.”¹

This was Boots first time visiting the hospital but she is not new to the staff at OSU. An OSU cardiologist and resident visited Newport to perform medical tests on Boots and Skinny, a 48-year-old harbor seal who is also the oldest known harbor seal.² Skinny and Boots were both rescued as pups and were later deemed non-releasable.

Boots is being treated by aquarium staff putting medicine in her fish along with lidocaine and barium-soaked squid. This will help the ulcer heal before any more pain can be caused.

“It’s just really cool to have four teams mesh their superpowers together for the common good of a single patient — in this case, a very special harbor seal to all of us at the Oregon Coast Aquarium,” Lewer concluded.¹

Reference

1. Oregon Coast Aquarium harbor seal Boots gets diagnosed at OSU veterinary hospital. Life at OSU. Published July 26, 2023. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-coast-aquarium-harbor-seal-boots-gets-diagnosed-osu-veterinary-hospital
2. Oldest Harbor Seal On Record Turns 48! News release. Oregon Coast Aquarium. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://aquarium.org/skinny-turns-48/