A 47-yr-old multiparous female bonobo (Pan paniscus) tested positive for pregnancy on a routine urine test. Because this geriatric animal was considered postreproductive, oral contraception had been discontinued. Sequential transabdominal ultrasound evaluations were performed under voluntary behavior and revealed that the uterus contained a mass of heterogenous tissue which was rapidly increasing in size. Due to a lack of normal fetal development and the ultrasonographic appearance of the uterine tissue, a molar pregnancy was suspected. Ovariohysterectomy was performed, and a complete hydatidiform mole was confirmed through human chorionic gonadotropin levels as well as gross and histological examination of the uterus. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a complete molar pregnancy has been reported antemortem in a nonhuman great ape, although a single case of partial hydatidiform mole was previously documented in a chimpanzee on postmortem examination. This case describes the successful medical and surgical management of complete molar pregnancy in a bonobo and provides support for extending the age range of birth control recommendations in geriatric captive great apes that exhibit active breeding behavior.
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1 September 2018
ANTEMORTEM DIAGNOSIS AND SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF A COMPLETE MOLAR PREGNANCY IN A GERIATRIC BONOBO (PAN PANISCUS)
Meredith E. Persky,
Yousuf S. Jafarey,
Tracy A. Moegenburg,
Annette Laubscher,
Michael J. Lasser,
Victoria L. Clyde,
Michael M. Garner
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Bonobo
complete molar pregnancy
gestational trophoblastic disease
great ape
hydatidiform mole
Pan paniscus