Historic surgery performed on 12-year-old beluga whale at Shedd Aquarium

CHICAGO (WGN) – Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium performed a historic surgery on a 12-year-old beluga whale named Kimalu.

The aquarium announced that during surgery on Tuesday, July 1, experts were able to remove a growing network of cysts on Kimalu’s head and neck near her blowhole, which provided immediate relief to the whale while informing future testing and treatment.

Kimalu became the world’s first known beluga to recover from general anesthesia, marking a major milestone in the care of beluga whales worldwide, according to a Sedd Aquarium spokesperson.

The aquarium said Kimalu is resting comfortably following the historic procedure. She is currently being monitored around the clock to ensure her welfare and well-being during the recovery process.

“There is no playbook for anesthetizing a beluga and taking her into surgery, so we leaned on our deep understanding of Kimalu as an individual and our incredible network of experts both here at Shedd Aquarium and beyond to guide this procedure,” said Dr. Karisa Tang, vice president of animal health at Shedd Aquarium. “Not only did we succeed in helping Kimalu, but we also made history for beluga whales along the way.”

Shedd Aquarium said its animal care team first noticed Kimalu’s cysts during her daily check-ins. After some initial tests and despite her weighing over 1,000 pounds, the veterinary team decided to perform a CT scan on her to determine the extent of the cysts and help come up with a diagnostic plan.

The results of the CT scan indicated surgery was the best option.

A Shedd spokesperson said anesthesia is especially complicated for belugas due to their general size and unique physiology as aquatic mammals, meaning even if the operation was successful, there was a chance Kimalu would not tolerate the anesthesia or possibly not recover when the anesthesia was reversed.

When it was time to reverse the anesthesia, experts used several tactics to wake Kimalu up, including having her lifelong caretakers there to speak to her and playing recordings of vocalizations from Shedd’s beluga pod.

“There were moments when it felt like we were all holding our breath simultaneously,” said Dr. Tang. “This experience is a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my career. Her recovery will take time and is still not a guarantee, but we believe this procedure has already provided great relief for Kimalu from the discomfort the cysts were causing. Right now, Kimalu gets to set the pace for her healing, and we will follow her lead.”

Tang also joined WGN News at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss the historic procedure. Watch the full interview in the video player at the top of this story.