A macaw has adapted “perfectly” after a team of SA veterinary specialists fitted it with a 3D-printed beak.

“It has been a while now and Max seems to have adapted perfectly to his 3D-printed titanium prosthetic beak,” the Hyacinth Haven Bird Sanctuary said.

Max, a blue and gold macaw from a bird sanctuary in the Western Cape, damaged his beak after getting into two separate scuffles with other macaws a few years ago.

But thanks to a University of Pretoria (UP) team led by Prof Gerhard Steenkamp, a veterinary specialist in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Max was given a new lease on life a few months ago.

His surgery was conducted at the Robberg Veterinary Clinic in Plettenberg Bay.

The processes leading to the groundbreaking surgery, believed to be the first of its type in SA, spanned two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The macaw’s owner, Trevor Glover, said Max was brought to the sanctuary in 2017 after his previous owner moved overseas.

“He was aggressive towards the rescued birds and during hormone season at the end of 2017, he attacked a macaw that retaliated by biting his top beak and cracking the left side from top to bottom.”

Glover said Max was then placed in a transition aviary, with another macaw that had an injured beak. “But in the third week together they got into a fight, with Max’s weakened beak being ripped off completely,” he said.

Within a day of surgery, however, Max was able to eat solid pieces of food again, said Glover.

“This is quite a change from eating only soft food for years.”

Max is estimated to be close to 20 years old.

Steenkamp said moulds of the stump had to be made several times to check if the beak stump had changed. The surgery lasted just more than an hour, he said.

“It is amazing what can be achieved with 3D printing. I am happy to have been part of the team that has given Max a second chance in life and would like to thank our industry partners.”

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