For equine surgeon Associate Professor Bryan Hilbert, treating unusual congenital deformities in large animals is a challenge and a teaching opportunity for veterinary science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU).
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Professor Hilbert earned plenty of media attention this week after guiding the surgery to remove a fifth leg from racehorse aptly called Spare Parts.
But other similar surgeries have taken place too. Professor Hilbert and his team have removed a leg from the skull of a calf.
Meanwhile, Professor Helbert said the condition of an “additional leg” was unusual but not necessarily rare.
“I have seen about four cases in my professional life,” he said.
"I was not 100 per cent certain at the time of the surgery that the foal would go on to stand up to the substantial rigours and pressure of training and racing."
With an academic career in Western Australia, the USA and Ireland, Professor Hilbert also ran an equine surgical referral practice in Western Australia, before joining CSU in 2007 to oversee surgical training at the Veterinary Clinical Centre.
The Centre, adjoining the Riverina Equestrian Centre Charles Sturt University, is in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. It includes a large animal hospital with operating theatres, diagnostic imaging facilities including the state's only veterinary CT unit, an animal breeding facility and small animal teaching laboratories.