Snake undergoes MRI scan for broken spine in Chembur; bamboo pit viper recovering, responding to medicine

Mumbai: An injured snake, which was found in a Mumbai suburb, underwent an MRI scan for its broken spine and is on recovery path after being put through treatment.

The snake, a bamboo pit viper, was found beaten with sticks in Dahisar. The venomous serpent was spotted by a local hawaldar, who handed it over to Anil Kubal, a snake rescuer. The serpent was taken to the clinic of veterinary doctor Deepa Katyal in suburban Chembur where it was found its spine had got damaged, Kubal said Thursday.

Representational image of a snake. AFP

"The next step was to assess the actual damage to the spine and for that, we needed high-end technology such as MRI. Our request (for a scan) was accepted by radiologist Dr Ravi Thapar who carried out the MRI scan for the bamboo pit viper," Kubal said.

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scanning uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce images of body structures. "For the first time I have performed an MRI scan on a snake. The machine is generally used for humans," said Thapar.

According to Dr Trisha DSouza, a veterinarian who was also involved in treatment, the reptile is responding to the medication. We are using tubes to feed medicines instead of injecting them. The damaged part has shown recovery and the reptile is recuperating," DSouza said.

The reptile will soon be released into woods, said Kubal. "Dr Katyal has used cold laser treatment for the snake. It was administered for healing the internal inflammation and easing the pain.

"As the results are good, (and) once the snake recovers fully, we will release it in the forest," Kubal said. "We are really happy that we could use such high-end and costly technology to rescue the snake," he said.