A surgery involving veterinary and human neurosurgeons to remove a spinal tumor from a chimpanzee is believed to be the first documented procedure of its kind.

It was done on a 34-year-old chimpanzee named Mwelu, or Lu, at Zoo Knoxville in Tennessee on September 19.

Zookeepers had noticed that Lu had been showing signs of weakness in his hind legs so they did an MRI. They found a tumor pressing against his spinal cord.

Officials there say surgery was the most viable option to preserve his quality of life.

The surgery was done at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, through a collaboration between Dr. Talisha Moore, a veterinary neurosurgeon, and Dr. James A. Killeffer, a human neurosurgeon at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

"It went very well," Killeffer said.

He said he could not final any record of the procedure being done on a chimpanzee.

Zoo officials say they tested the tumor and it was not cancerous.

Zoo officials report that Lu is recovering in a special quarantine space and has already shown signs of improved movement.

"I think that it is such a rewarding feeling when you can help an animal out, regardless of species," Moore said.