Doctors have performed the first cataract surgery on a falcon. The patient is a domesticated female Lanner Falcon named Banner who lives at the New Hampshire School of Falconry. She suffered from cataracts for two years, cataracts so debilitating that she couldn't fly. A veterinary team at Caves Animal Hospital performed the operation where they removed the cataracts and inserted new lenses on the bird's corneas. From a Discovery News article:
It took a worldwide team of specialists to design the artificial lenses that would be placed in Banner's eyes. Canadian opthalmology equipment manufacturer I-Med made the lenses and donated them to the surgical team in New Hampshire. The lenses themselves are only about 6 millimeters wide.
Banner is expected to make a full recovery.
Photo of Lanner Falcon by Dave Rogers
By Daniela Ogden
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