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OB-GYNs who helped deliver Sumatran orangutan baby call moment 'surreal'

VIDEO: Vets call OB-GYN during orangutan's labor complications
2:21
Vets call OB-GYN during orangutan's labor complications
ABCNews.com
PHOTO: Kelly McCarthy
ByKelly McCarthy
September 25, 2018, 8:30 am

Two Kansas doctors stepped in to help deliver a very special patient earlier this month -- Lily the Sumatran orangutan.

Both agreed it was a moment they'll be talking about for years to come.

Daisy, the Sedgwick County Zoo's 33-year-old orangutan, went into labor early in the morning on Sept. 7. But according to her veterinary team, there were complications that needed a different set of doctors.

PHOTO: Daisy, 33, a Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to a baby girl, Lily on Sept. 7, 2018.
Daisy, 33, a Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to a baby girl, Lily on Sept. 7, 2018.
Sedgwick County Zoo

"The zookeeper noticed there was a delay in her labor. Normally they deliver very quickly and that wasn't the case for Daisy," Laura Whisler, an OB-GYN based in Wichita, Kansas, said.

The veterinarians were at a loss and turned to the local hospital for help.

(MORE: Visitors to National Zoo get first look at Moke, its 1st male western lowland gorilla baby in 9 years)

"One of the veterinarians at the zoo is one of my personal patients that I've taken care of," Whisler said. "She asked me if I'd be willing to help out."

Whisler and fellow OB-GYN, Dr. Janna Chirby, were told Daisy needed a cesarean section.

PHOTO: Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Sedgwick County Zoo

While the experienced pair of OB-GYNs have delivered thousands of babies at Via Christi Hospital, this was their first primate.

"I'm an OB-GYN for homo sapiens, humans. Not for animals," Chirby said.

The doctors quickly devised a game plan. A few minutes after surgery a healthy baby orangutan was born.

PHOTO: Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Sedgwick County Zoo

"It was very surreal and definitely one of the best days at my job I've ever had," Chirby said.

After a couple weeks in quarantine, baby Lily is now living happily with Daisy at the zoo.

PHOTO: Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Lily was born at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kan, on Sept. 7, 2018.
Sedgwick County Zoo

"It's definitely one of those moments that will be part of our stories that we tell to our grandkids," Whisler said.

(MORE: Baby orangutans released back into the wild after rehabilitation)

(SLIDESHOW: Cutest baby animals from around the world)

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