Tusks Removal in a Two-Year-Old Walrus

A young walrus was presented because of a chronic abscess involving the left maxillary canine tooth, also known as the left tusk. Oral exam showed that both tusks were severely worn. To control the infection and to prevent further ones from occurring, decision was made to extract both at the same time. Equipment was collected, an anesthesiologist was contacted and the surgery was set. Two techniques were planned but after trial and error, we ended up drilling the tusks out using the same approach used with elephants.