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Baby wombat survives life-saving bladder surgery

Digger being fed after undergoing surgery at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne.

Digger being fed after undergoing surgery at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne. Photo: AAP

A baby wombat orphan has pulled through life-saving surgery in Melbourne.

Four-month-old Digger thrilled staff at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital by surviving the hour-long surgery needed to clear a blocked bladder.

The joey weighs just 600 grams after having almost 300 millilitres drained from his bladder on Wednesday.

Supplied image of a baby wombat, named Digger, under anaesthetic before going into surgery at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne. The wombat, who was rescued from a road near Kilmore, is recovering well in intensive care, after making it through surgery to clear a blocked bladder. (AAP Image/Lort Smith Animal Hospital) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The wombat made it through surgery to clear a blocked bladder. Photo: AAP

Dr Tristen Rich said operating on wombats was always difficult so surgery on little Digger was particularly “delicate and fiddly”.

“He had everything against him so he’s a real little Aussie battler getting through it all,” the veterinary surgeon told AAP on Thursday.

“Even from the start when his bladder was huge he showed quite a lot of fight.”

Digger was recovering well in intensive care and was expected to be discharged on Friday into the hands of a wildlife carer.

“He’s responding really well. He’s looking really strong and we’ll probably keep him in for another day or two,” he said.

Digger was just one month old when rescued from the side of a road in Kilmore after a car hit and killed his mother.

He was taken to Lort Smith this week after his carer noticed something awry and local vets decided the surgery was beyond them.

-AAP

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