THANKS to a Mandurah veterinary student, Paris Hilton was recently saved from a life-threatening situation.
Nyssa Ross was inside the Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital (MUVH) operating theatre as oblong turtle, Paris Hilton, underwent a delicate procedure to remove a fish hook embedded in the lining of her stomach.
Ms Ross joined experienced veterinary doctors from MUVH, and counterparts from Perth Zoo, as they worked for more than an hour to save Paris.
Following the successful procedure, the 'real' Paris Hilton retweeted an online video of the operation to her 13.5 million twitter followers.
“It was a great experience to see how the vets here apply the equipment and knowledge we use on dogs and cats, to a species that maybe unfamiliar to them or that we see less often,” Ms Ross said.
Once the hook was safely removed by Dr Amanda Paul, Ms Ross was called upon to assist with measuring the vital signs of the sedated reptile.
“I am interested in reptile medicine but have never used a doppler to measure the heart rate of a turtle before, so that was quite a cool experience,” she said.
“I feel pretty confident in getting a heart rate of a turtle now.”