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MOTOLA TO GET WATER PIPE SPLINT



Maimed Thai elephant to get splint 

Lampang, 15 Sept, AP. An elephant who had an operation to amputate a foot
after stepping on a land mine will get a splint to relieve the pressure on
her uninjured legs. 

Metal water pipe will be used for the splint, which must be able to bear
much of Motola's 5,940-pound weight, one of her doctors said Wednesday. 

Therdchai Cheewaket, a top bone surgeon from Chiang Mai University who led
the operation on the 38-year-old elephant last month, said Motola's right
front leg now bears as much as two-thirds of her weight. 

"We notice she always uses her trunk to hang on to balance her weight. Her
right leg is very sore and she looks in pain. We are afraid she will fall
and hurt herself," he said. 

The plight of Motola, who had been used for logging work, has drawn
worldwide sympathy. Two companies in the United States which make
prosthetic devices have offered to supply the elephant with an artificial
foot. 

Therdchai estimated that Motola should be ready to have an artificial foot
attached in a few months. 

Motola stepped on a land mine early last month near the frontier between
Thailand and Myanmar, also known as Burma. The blast shredded her left
front leg, an injury that worsened on her three-day walk to an elephant
hospital. 

Recovery from the operation has been slow. This week, Motola had a fever
from an infection and also pulled out her stitches when scratching her wound. 

Therdchai said he was using honey to clean Motola's wound, a traditional
folk remedy. 

"Her wound is healing well and is infection-free," he said. "But I cannot
tell how long it takes for an elephant to heal since its skin is different
from human skin and there is no book written about it." 

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