Sea Turtles Allen Wrench and Engineer Released September 27

Sea Turtles Allen Wrench and Engineer Released September 27

Published: Monday, October 3, 2022

Sea Turtle Hospital patients Allen Wrench and Engineer received their swimming papers and were released on September 27. Allen Wrench was a public release at River to Sea Preserve Boardwalk (Marineland Beach) in the town of Marineland, Florida and Engineer was a private release at Gamble Rogers State Park, Florida. 

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Allen Wrench

The second named patient of 2022, Allen Wrench stranded on February 16th off Gene Johnson Road, two miles north of us. Allen Wrench washed ashore with the strong currents and offshore winds we experienced this past winter.

Allen Wrench was debilitated and luckily had only a mild FP tumor burden. One month after arriving, our veterinarian, Dr. Brooke, was able to start Allen Wrench’s FP tumor removal surgeries. It took three different surgeries to remove all of Allen Wrench’s FP tumors. The surgeries were performed in April, July, and September.

On Wednesday, September 21st, after a complete examination by Dr. Brooke, it was determined that Allen Wrench was in good body condition, all of her surgical incision sites were fully healed, and there was no evidence of any new tumors or regrowth. Updated bloodwork and radiographs were both within normal limits, and updated measurements including weight was documented. As a result, Dr. Brooke cleared Allen Wrench for release and was ready to return home after 8 months of care at our hospital.  Ms. Allen is fit with a PIT tag, which is like a microchip, so if she was to ever re-strand we would be notified.


Engineer

Our 30th patient of 2022, Engineer was accidently caught by a fisherman in Doris Leeper State Park near Port Orange, Florida on April 22nd. Luckily for Engineer, the hook was caught on his/her left front flipper and was quickly removed. The fisherman did notice clusters of FP tumors on both eyes and all four flippers and delivered Engineer to our friends at Volusia Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet. Their veterinary staff triaged and transferred Engineer to our Hospital.

After arriving at our hospital, a complete examination was performed by our veterinarian, Dr. Brooke, which included bloodwork and radiographs. Aside from a moderate FP tumor burden and thin body condition, Engineer was in stable condition.

In May, Dr. Brooke was able to start Engineer’s FP tumor removal surgeries. It took three different surgeries to remove all of Engineer’s FP tumors. The final two were performed in July and August. On Wednesday, September 21st, after a complete examination by Dr. Brooke, we decided that Engineer was in good body condition, all of his/her surgical incision sites were fully healed, and there was no evidence of any new tumors or regrowth. Updated bloodwork and radiographs were both within normal limits, and updated measurements including weight were documented. As a result, Dr. Brooke cleared Engineer for release and was ready to return home after six months of care at our hospital. Engineer was fit with flipper tags and a PIT tag, which is like a microchip. If Engineer ever re-strands, we will be notified.

Release image credit: Wendy Beyda