Branson specialist on 'Cloud 9' after helping big cat suffering from a kidney stone

Sara Karnes, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read
Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.
Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.

Don Wilson has helped close to 9,000 humans deal with painful kidney stones. He can now add a big cat to his list of past patients after recently helping a serval cat at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas.

As a shockwave lithotripsy specialist, Wilson can expertly use a machine that is able to blast away kidney, ureter and bladder stones from outside the body using shockwaves. Wilson works for U.S. Lithotripsy, a branch of United Medical Systems, and has contracted through Cox Medical Center Branson as part of the urology program for more than two decades.

Wilson sends 40,000 volts of energy through water to shock the stone via a silicone balloon that touches the skin, according to Cox Branson's social media. The powerful shock happens while a patient is asleep and blows the stone into sand-size pieces which the patient will pass in their urine.

Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.
Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.

A serval cat was suffering from a large kidney stone about two weeks ago at Little Rock Zoo. Veterinarians at the zoo contacted the urology team at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock to see if they could help. They use lasers to blast stones, which is a procedure that requires scopes to be inserted. They didn’t have any luck getting access, the hospital stated.

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After the unsuccessful attempt, Wilson got a call.

“The animal hospital asked me how much I would charge to help,” Wilson told the hospital and later reiterated to the News-Leader in a phone interview. “I told them you paid me simply by calling because this is on my bucket list.”

The serval cat's pawprints are stamped on a canvas.
The serval cat's pawprints are stamped on a canvas.

Wilson loaded his equipment and set off. After gaining the cat's "consent," consisting of painted paw prints on canvas, Wilson began the 45-minute procedure to take care of the 1.6-centimeter kidney stone.

"I'm usually a happy-go-lucky jokester, but I was very tense and focused during the procedure," Wilson told the News-Leader. "When I saw the stone breaking up and coming apart on my lithotripsy screen, I had this feeling of relaxation. I felt like I was on Cloud 9, like, 'Man, I just did something that nobody in the world had ever done.'"

Once the procedure was over, all Wilson wanted to do was hold the serval cat while it was still under anesthesia. He said it had the softest fur.

Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.
Don Wilson, a Shockwave Lithotripsy Specialist at Cox Branson, helped a big cat in distress at Little Rock Zoo.

"What we've just done is open new doors for the future," Wilson said about helping not just humans, but also animals dealing with kidney stones. "They don't have kidney stones as often as we do, but it might save a lot of troubles and be a less invasive procedure."

Sara Karnes is the Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Branson specialist helps big cat at Little Rock Zoo