Brevard Zoo’s Baby Cub ‘Brody’ Growing Up Fast, Making More Public Appearances
By Space Coast Daily // September 13, 2020
received hip surgury in july
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – The Brevard Zoo has announced their baby bear Brody is making more public appearances.
In July, Brody had surgery to address an issue with his joints.
A laboratory extracted stem cells from the fat sample, which can be used to reduce pain and inflammation and promote healing of the surgical site.
Brody was then brought back to the L3Harris Animal Care Center to receive his first dose of this medication.
Two injections containing about five million stem cells each were delivered directly to Brody’s hip joints.
To accomplish this, Dr. Christiansen carefully inserted a needle into Brody’s hip and drew a small amount of joint fluid to confirm the tip was in the right place, then administered the injection.
A third, less-concentrated injection was delivered intravenously. The veterinary also captured some radiographs to check on Brody’s hip condition.
While the zoo won’t be able to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the surgery for quite some time, he appears to be recovering without complication.
Brody woke from the anesthesia and was returned to his habitat. It is normal for animals to experience discomfort and lameness for a few days following stem-cell injections, but Brody is already back to being his normal, energetic self.
“We have enough stem cells banked for an additional 15 doses, which will be administered throughout the course of Brody’s life as needed,” the Brevard Zoo stated.
Quality veterinary care is expensive. Click here to support animal wellness at the Zoo during this financially challenging time.
The Brevard Zoo is committed to supporting international conservation programs where small investments can make a big difference, and where they can show our community how our efforts in Florida can affect wildlife worldwide.
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